Iris
by dragonfly76
Summary: Hiding from his pain in Canada, Jacob decides it is time to stake a claim once and for all. Returning to La Push feral and wild, he is determined to save Bella from herself. What really went on in Jacob and Bella's minds during those months he was on the run? Can he change her mind before the wedding?
1. Chapter 1: Broken

**Beta:** Shadowlynx

**PreReader:** MP

**Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the**** property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.**

_**If the silence in my head lasted, I would never go back. I wouldn't be the first one to choose this form over the other. Maybe, if I ran far enough away, I would never have to hear again… I pushed my legs faster, letting Jacob Black disappear behind me.**_

_**Jacob Black, Eclipse, Epilogue**_

The Canadian winds blew harshly that night in the mountains, ice cold and seeping deep into his bones. It didn't matter. Pain from the elements was nothing compared to the torment that bled his wounded soul.

The red wolf had collapsed after another day of running hard with no real destination in mind. His only goal to push himself. To lose himself fully in the wolf. Numbing the man inside who suffered the painful ache of despair and loss.

Days blurred into weeks, weeks into months. Miles and miles of running, scaling mountains, sliding down dangerous rock and shale. Purposefully diving into razor sharp thorns and falling against hardwood trees. Battling anything that had claws with a carnal rage until certain that his once perfect skin would be covered in enough jagged scars to match those which ran across his heart.

It didn't matter. He didn't know if he could even shift back to human anymore. In truth, he didn't want to.

The wolf sought death.

Body spent and worn down from self inflicted punishment, he nestled into a cramped opening between the mountain rocks. Exhaustion overtook him quickly and the wolf succumbed to sleep. Rest was only another betrayal. It allowed his subconscious to open the divide he'd worked so hard to close. Weary and unable to fight it, he gave in, fully aware of what night and dreams would bring.

Their thoughts invaded his mind. The man inside was so far gone from humanity that it was only in slumber when his mind connected to them anymore. His brothers, his pack family saw in vivid detail the nightmares that plagued his fractured soul.

A slip of a girl with brown curls and red eyes, skin white as the driven snow. It was always the same. He would fall to his knees before her and willingly allow her to spill his blood. He'd lay on the damp forest floor, body bleeding and broken. Whispering her name. Pleading for Bella to come back to him. Instead she'd tilt her head to the side. A sick, twisted smile painted on a beautiful killer's face. She'd lick her lips and wipe the stain of crimson from her mouth, then watch as the light faded from his eyes.

"_Come back to us, brother."_

" _Come home."_

" _We need you. Billy needs you." _

"_She needs you." _

Each night the same words, a barrage of voices all asking the same thing. It was useless. He was never going back. Isabella Swan had made her choice. He had made his. Both were doomed to walk the earth an echo of who they once were, until someone or something stronger would mercifully send each to their death.

"_Come home. please. Look at her." _

For the first time during his self imposed exile, they flooded his mind with images of Bella. The girl he knew, the girl he once so lovingly fixed. The one that had so much fight in her... she was gone. Instead he saw regret and fear painted upon her beautiful face. Bella was pacing the long stretch of empty beach, biting her lip in nervous frustration. In LaPush she hid from her fiance, always twisting the ring that didn't belong on her finger. Bella's body was thin, careworn, shoulders bowed under an immense burden of guilt. Dark, bruise-like shadows marred her now dull eyes, making her appear old before her time.

Through their memories he saw her sitting in that rusty old heap of a truck, unmoving, detached. Staring straight ahead for hours upon end. As if crawling deep inside of herself, blanking out the world around her. Numb to all pain and emotion. Bella was nothing but an empty shell now. A mere echo of the girl he once knew.

Images of her breaking down next to the treeline in Charlie's backyard bombarded his consciousness, startling him with the intensity of her anger and bravery. Bella screaming into the empty night. Cursing herself, cursing God, cursing Him. On her wrist she wore a simple bracelet, adorned by the heart of a wolf.

_Yet, she still wore the bloodsucker's ring._

One voice. Softer this time. One that understood pain and regret. "_She loves you. Come back and fight for her. She needs you to. She wants you to." _A flurry of memories. Love, stolen kisses, promises made. Then the loss. The devastation. The heartbreak. "_Fight for her the way Sam didn't fight for me."_

Then, nothing. The connection broke and the red wolf woke from his dreams. His feet began to move with purpose. A destination.

Jacob Black was going home.


	2. Chapter 2: Breathe Your Life

_**You love me, too. Not the same way, I know. But he's not your whole life, either. Not anymore. Maybe he was once, but he left. And now he's just going to have to deal with the consequence of that choice — me.**_

_**Jacob Black, Eclipse, Chapter 15**_

Death. It surrounded her these days. Her past, present and future. Death was the only certainty left.

_Bella wanted to live._

Jacob was gone. Gone and the people who were supposed to become her family didn't seem to care. At first she thought that perhaps planning a monstrosity of a wedding was only to distract her. She was grateful even. Then as the weeks wore on Bella realized that it wasn't. They _wanted _her to forget. They _expected _her to move on. To _pretend _he never existed. She couldn't understand. How was it that life, _Jacob's life,_ was of so little worth to them? Why were _her_ thoughts, _her_ feelings given no regard whatsoever?

None of them gave a damn. That was what it boiled down to.

The weeks slowly passed and Bella had begun to spend more time at the reservation. At first it was in the hope that Jacob would see her through the pack mind. That he would see her quiet desperation and come home. Selfish, she knew, but it was so hard to breathe without him. She wanted Jacob to save her somehow. Deep down she knew it would be wrong.

Still, she _wanted _him all the same.

La Push felt like home to her. More than Forks, more than Charlie's and yes, even more than the Cullen's. Jacob felt like home. At the reservation she could be surrounded by him. His presence, though physically missing, was palpable. Jacob was _everywhere_. His heart a part of the vast tapestry of the forest. His laughter floating alongside the rollicking sound of the ocean waves. His warmth radiated in the grains of sand beneath her feet. His scent carried on the afternoon breeze.

_Jacob Black embodied LaPush._

Bella felt so helpless, so empty and dead inside. It wasn't lost on her that being in La Push, with or without Jacob did two things for her. First, it aggravated her soon to be family, still convinced that the wolves would eat her alive. Secondly, it was the one place she could escape to and be truly alone. Alice could not see her future the minute she crossed the treaty line. She could walk the empty beach and weep for the mess her life had become. Be alone with her thoughts instead of Edward constantly wishing that he could read her mind. Even the pack steered clear of her now that the decision had been made.

Going there had become a near daily routine. Often, she'd pace the beach, dwelling on and worrying over everything that was out of her control. Sometimes she would just sit in her truck staring into space. Her truck. It smelled of stale tobacco and sharp pine, soft ocean breezes and clean soap. A lingering reminder of Jacob Black. She refused to let Edward inside of it anymore, wishing she could bar him from her bedroom in the same way.

Many nights she shut her window to him, only to wake in the fleeting hours of darkness to find glowing amber eyes staring straight at her. That blank look on his face frightening and sending chills deep within her soul. She had grown weary of his possessiveness and domineering presence long ago. Explaining that she needed rest was of no help. Edward would argue, citing that he didn't sleep, that it was for her safety, that in her dreams alone she was an open book to him. The real reason behind his actions fear. Fear that Jacob would come back to see her one last time. Often she wondered if there would be a morning she would not wake. Instead burning fire would coat her veins, taking her life before she was ready.

Here, in her truck, she was safe. Jacob's presence covering her like a warm blanket. He was her best friend, protector, the man she loved but whom fate had deemed fit to deny. Because that was the truth of it. The very heart of the situation.

One kiss.

That was all it took. One kiss showed her an entire life that was physically impossible to hold onto. Soon she was devising reasons to go to La Push. Ironclad excuses that Edward could not refute. Spending time fishing with Charlie, reminding her fiance that soon enough she would be leaving her father, never to see him in this life again. He couldn't argue with her. Even if he tried, Rosalie was on his ass to allow her the remaining time she had left in hopes of convincing her that she could still walk away.

Bella wished it was so easy.

Then she started going to the Blacks. Reminding Edward that he was the one who sent the damn wedding invitation. That it was his fault a father had lost his only son. Bella played to the fact that Billy was wheelchair bound, practically insinuating that he was a cripple and unable to do for himself. Swearing Billy needed her help cleaning house, doing laundry, grocery shopping and getting a square meal since Jacob had been driven away by Edward's lapse in judgement. The innermost confines of her heart knew it was more than that. It was purposeful, deceitful, vengeful. Edward's selfish way of gloating that he'd won. That he'd gotten the girl. As if she was some sort of cheap carnival prize.

It worked perfectly.

Billy asked no questions whenever she visited. It was comforting to sit in silence with him. Wisely, he never mentioned the dark circles that had permanently formed under her eyes. Never pointed out that she was looking too thin or viewed the way her clothes hung off of her now bony frame judgmentally. Never blamed or accused her. Bella's own heart did enough of that already. Instead, they comforted each other without words. Both bereft and grieving a type of loss that few understood.

One afternoon she'd fallen asleep on the cramped old couch she'd so often shared with Jacob. Vaguely, she registered strong arms lifting her. Carrying her into another room. The unnatural warmth caused her heart to leap, thinking Jacob had finally returned home. Afraid to open her eyes, Bella buried her face into the heavily muscled chest of her savior. She breathed deeply, greeted and disappointed by the mixed scent of sandlewood and citrus.

_Seth_.

Sweet Seth. The only member of the pack who had not stonewalled her. The only friend she had left in the world at this point. Seth. A sweet, loving boy who never complained, but had more right to than anyone she ever knew. Patient and kind each time she called asking for word of Jacob, even though it was his brother suffering alone in the wilderness because of her.

Seth was the only wolf she was still comfortable around. His easy demeanor and thoughtful ways reminded her so much of Jake before all this supernatural shit had come into their lives. When their biggest worry was sneaking off on their motorcycles without getting caught.

Bella felt herself being laid on something soft. Her senses registered where she was before her mind could. Jacob's bed. Tears fell like soft rain over her cheeks, soaking the pillow beneath her head. The last time she had been in this room was the day she told him goodbye. The same day her heart betrayed her.

In her mind's eye, she could still picture him, battered, broken, bloody. Angry purple bruises marring his beautiful skin. Despondent, already knowing what her answer would be, but in true Jacob fashion he held nothing back.

He had tried so hard to convince her.

Jacob, with his enormous capacity to love had laid his soul bare, offering all he had. In return she'd ripped out his heart. Thrown his love away like yesterday's trash. Explaining that she loved him, but it wasn't enough. That he wasn't enough. It would always be Edward. Always him.

His voice still resonated in the air. _"It would have been effortless for us - comfortable, easy as breathing."_

Life with Jacob wasn't a possibility. Just another dream lost. He _would _imprint. He _would _leave her. Edward never would. Even if he could, it didn't matter. Her destiny was already written. Death's cold finger had already etched the epitaph of her tombstone.

_Here lies Isabella Swan. _

_Eternally young. _

_Lost before she had begun to live. _

_Beloved Daughter and Friend._

Her small frail figure shook violently, wracked with heart-wrenching sobs. Seth Clearwater brushed the tears from her eyes, all the while whispering words of comfort and hope. "It's ok, Bells. Jake just needs some time. He loves you and it hurts to lose you." Seth combed her hair with his fingers, desperate to help her, afraid for her sanity.

The pack still watched over her. Bella was Jake's girl. They all loved her but couldn't understand her reasoning for marrying Edward. Even Paul Lahote, the asshole of LaPush had been found pacing between the trees near Charlie's house, keeping a watchful eye over the young woman.

"Shhh... don't cry. It'll be ok in the end Bells, you'll see."

"Don't call me that!" Bella's voice cracked under the strain, her throat clogged with tears. "That's what Jake calls me. Bells is gone! Do you hear me? She's gone and so is he! Nothing is going to ever be okay again!" A fresh wave of tears leaked from her eyes. "Just leave Seth. Leave me here. I need to be alone."

The mattress coils creaked and groaned beneath the weight of Seth's enormous body. He sat beside her refusing to budge. Listening while she ranted and raved, screaming fitfully about broken promises and things that go bump in the night.

When sleep finally claimed her Seth slipped quietly from the room, but not before taking one last look around. He missed his brother and understood Jacob's unwillingness to let the small girl go. Something made him want to protect her, take away her pain and fears. He wanted to hold her in his arms and make it all go away. Life was never easy. Seth wasn't sure why it was so hard for Bella to leave Edward. He had a feeling it wasn't as cut and dry as it seemed. Life never was. There had to be more to the story. Bella and Jacob loved each other.

Thinking of Sam and Leah, Seth realized that sometimes love just wasn't enough.

Bella woke sometime after nightfall, forgetting at first where she was. Then it hit her. A fresh wave of tears threatened to spill over when she sat up in bed and looked around the cramped room belonging to her missing best friend. She scrambled to her feet and flicked on the light. It was a perfect picture of him. A simple snapshot of a life so complex it defied imagination. Dirty laundry lay heaped in the corner. Greasy car parts sat silently on the old stained carpet waiting to be put back together by strong, capable hands. A rickety desk pushed against the wall, its surface littered with chewed pens and broken pencils. A too small black t-shirt stretched thin by wash and wear, hung carelessly over the back of a chair. Fingering the soft cotton she finally lifted it to her nose, breathing deep, brushing her cheek against the fabric.

_Jacob_.

She glanced down at the cluttered desktop. A few framed pictures of his mother and sisters. Billy and Charlie together drinking beer in the late afternoon sun. Her eyes fell on a notebook with words etched harshly onto the page, crossed out, underlined and crossed out again. Squinting to read under the dim light, she saw her own name followed by one word.

_Why? _

It startled her. A simple question for which Jake had never been given any real answers. Bella lifted the notebook unsure of what it was she wanted or hoped to see on its pages. Beneath it lay a picture. She was at a loss for who could have taken it. Likely Emily or Kim. They were at the beach, backs leaned against a weathered old log. His arms draped around her shoulders, holding her close. Jacob looked down at her with so much love and intensity that it hurt. Their bodies leaned together, her own face serene and content just to be next to him. _To be accepted. _

Dropping the notebook, she shook her head in frustration Automatically her hands shot out as if to say 'Stop'. She couldn't take it. She had to get out of there. Being in Jacob's bedroom, immersing herself in his world, waiting for him to walk through the door. It was her own personal form of self-flagellation.

_It had to end._

Bella tore from the house as if the hounds of hell were after her. It registered that Billy was shouting at her, but she didn't care. Hopping into her rusty old truck she turned the ignition, making it roar to life. The ancient engine screamed in protest as she gunned it out of there, spitting gravel in her wake and pushing it over its own self-imposed limits in utter desperation to get away.

The image of the two of them burned in the back of her mind. Suddenly, she became angry. Jacob had left her too. He had never said goodbye. Not to her, not to Billy, not to anybody. He abandoned her and it hurt more than when Edward had done the same thing.

_Edward_. Realization had slowly crept over her senses. It was what Jacob had been trying to tell her all along. Their lives, all of them, had been destroyed by the Cullens. They had come to Forks. They knew it would trigger the Quileutes to shift. They ingratiated themselves into her life. In doing so they had led her down a path of destruction, forcing her to weave so many lies that she didn't recognize herself anymore.

Then that disastrous trip to Italy happened. She was such a broken mess prior to that night. Jacob had been so patient with her. Never pressing her for details. Never pushing her. Never forcing her to do things she didn't want to. His friendship and selfless acts of devotion had shown her what it was like to have someone on your side, no matter what the outcome. That night in the truck she had decided to give up the madness. To rearrange her heart. To give Jacob a small opening, praying he could push back the blackness which threatened to overtake her soul.

Everything happened so fast. Too fast to think clearly. One minute she was a breath away from kissing Jacob, then Alice was there so she left. Left Jake without so much as a second look. Guilt from that night chewed away at her heart, burning it raw like battery acid. Jacob had healed her hurts, asking for nothing in return and yet she still took everything he had like greedy child.

Now there was no choice. Nothing and nobody could save her from death. Her fate had been sealed on a bright summer's day, deep in the dank sewers of Italy. The Volturi had seen to that. She'd already chosen Edward anyway, begged for him to change her, so what did it really matter?

_Nothing, except that I don't want the same things anymore._

Bella pulled into the driveway, grateful to see that Charlie wasn't home to witness the mental breakdown she was having. For months she'd repressed her feelings and now that the dam had burst she was incapable of holding her emotions back.

Bella chased wildly through the yard, stumbling and stopping short of the line of trees that loomed in the darkness. She was absolutely certain there was a wolf out there. Just as certain as she was that Edward or Alice were somewhere out there too. She'd scream and yell. Rant and rave. Each and every one of them with the exception of Seth Clearwater deserved her wrath. They'd all turned their backs on her without so much as a second glance. Never allowing her to give any sort of explanation. Never asking how she felt about any of this!

_FUCK THEM_.

They had no clue what she was going through. What all this supernatural bullshit had done to her. How it had destroyed her life, nearly taken away her remaining sanity.

_They're sure as shit going to find out_.

She strode forward another two steps, back straight, a determined set to her jaw. She opened her mouth to speak and instead started screaming loudly.

"I hate you! Damn you! Is this what you wanted? You wanted me, well here I am. Come and get me!"

Bella began gesturing wildly. Smacking her own chest, pacing and turning circles while yelling into the pitch black night. "You fucking did this to me. I can't sleep anymore! I don't eat! I'm fucking miserable and it's all because of you! You son of a bitch!" Adrenaline coursed through her veins, blood pumping faster and harder with every single shout.

"Do you know what it's like to go to bed every damn night and know that you're about to lose everyone you've ever loved? Do you?" She knew she sounded irrational, her emotions all over the map. After all, somewhere along the lines she'd made a choice. Right or wrong didn't matter. "Do you even care or understand what it's like to have your dreams ripped away from you?"

White hot anger streaked through her like a hot knife along with a revelation. _It felt good_.

Bella cursed them all. Edward, Jacob, God, the pack. "Every fucking one of you left me and I never once left you! You can all go to hell! Damn you all to hell! Where do you get off judging me? You're all so fucking perfect and I'm just the clumsy human pet you all get to play with and protect? I hate you all. Every last one of you! All you care about is yourselves. Keeping up appearances, protecting your family, hiding your secrets. Claiming all this honor and dignity crap."

She fell to her knees, collapsing from the stress of the past several months, the stress of what was yet to come. "Do you think I don't know that half of this shitty situation is my own fucking fault? Well guess what? I fucking do and I'm paying for it. I'm paying for it with my life. MY FUCKING LIFE!"

Peering into the darkness she could see golden eyes looking back at her. The question was who was it lurking in the darkness? Who was listening tonight?

"You took all of my choices away from me." Her voice was quieter now, broken and no louder than a whispering wind. "The worst part of all of it was that I let you. I let you do it. I just wanted you to be happy. I wanted to love you. I wanted you to love me and now I'm going to lose everything that ever mattered to me."

Tears took over and it wasn't long before a pair of ice cold arms slipped around her waist. Edward held her close, whispering words he thought she ought to hear. Promising her he'd reign Alice in. They'd scale back on the wedding. That he was sorry she was so hurt, so upset. Begging her never to leave him, explaining for the millionth time that he'd only left her before to keep her safe. That he didn't want her to die. He wanted her to live.

Reminding her she'd chosen this. Chosen him. That _he _was her future. Insinuating Jacob Black was her past. That soon all this anger, all these regrets and human feelings would fade from memory. Together they'd start a new life. Travel new roads for thousands of years.

Edward carried her into the house and tucked her safely into bed. The whole while, humming her lullaby as if she were no more than a mere child. She did not have the strength or will left to argue when he laid down next to her. Unable to fight a losing battle, Bella succumbed to exhaustion. She didn't believe him. None of it mattered. Edward was right.

That night as sleep claimed her, one final thought resounded through Bella's mind.

_It will all be over soon._


	3. Chapter 3: Know Who I Am

"_**I know it's going to be bad for you, Jacob. I understand that—maybe better than you think. I don't like her, but… she's your Sam. She's everything you want and everything you can't have." **_

_**-Leah Clearwater, Breaking Dawn**_

Jacob ran, his mind- the wolf's mind, focused solely on one goal. Bella Swan.

Dodging through the trees with no clear idea or direction toward home, unable to even see the sun for a compass. For weeks he had pushed himself to run North, moving erratically, zigzagging across the Canadian Rockies. Though the wolf howled in protest, he had blocked out his brothers, not once allowing their mind to touch his. It had angered the wolf, yet satisfied the man inside to do battle and rage against the pain which consumed him. He was fighting against all those who had torn his life to shreds.

When the visions of Bella assaulted him this morning, the wolf was furious. The thin, invisible cord binding the two had snapped and now... a war raged deep within. Man and wolf were no longer one, or perhaps had never really been. Before his wolf had been at peace, its dominant nature sated by simply being in close proximity to the young girl who had accepted him so freely. Now, the red wolf clawed at the man from the inside out, demanding and violent. The images of Isabella Swan through the mind of his pack had stretched the bonds of his will far beyond the breaking point. The wolf demanded her not as friend and ally, nor even as imprint, but rather he insisted upon taking her for life-partner and mate.

There would be no peace until her calming presence consumed the warrior once more. The man in him could no longer fight it.

The wolf would stake a claim.

Man gave in willingly to the wolf, allowing him to drive their actions by thousand-year-old instinct and raw animal mentality. It was not just Bella that the wolf wanted to dominate, but the pack as well. The alpha was going to assume his place and fulfill his destiny. No longer would he settle for being the lone wolf or the right arm of their leader. The warriors would willingly bow before him or he would take his place amongst them by force. They would be his brothers no more. They would become his children, to lead and train for one purpose and one purpose only. To rid the earth of the vile abomination of man known as vampire.

_Bella was to be the catalyst._

Glimpsing into the mind of his pack, Jacob found that he had ten days left. Ten days before the love of his life bound herself to the undead and became a stain on the face of humanity. The wolf snarled viciously in response, digging his claws deeper into the muddy earth, jettisoning forward with the force of a fiery rocket.

Man and wolf finally agreed. Bella would be theirs, whether she liked it or not.

The time for wallowing in his own misery was over. Jacob had enough and made a decision. He wasn't giving up. Things would be different this time. Gut instinct, determination and the grim images of Bella told him so. This time he would win. This time, she would let Edward go. The wolf inside would allow nothing else... and the man agreed.

_First, I have to figure out where in the fuck I'm at._

Jacob sprinted through the trees, slid down snow-covered mountainsides, swimming across vast lakes, paying no heed to the clear, pristine wilderness untouched by man. All he needed was a road. Just one. North, South, East or West didn't matter. One sign to figure out how far he had really gone... and how long it would take him to get back to Bella.

Sensitive wolf ears finally picked up the faint sound of an engine racing down a distant highway. He followed it. Jacob inched closer to the road, far enough to not be seen, but still able to view anything that would give an indication of where he was at. Eyes peeled for a flash of bright green and white, he spotted what it was he was looking for and skidded to a halt. There it was. The worst part? He was running in the wrong direction. Quickly, he spun around and started to sprint southwest. Jacob could feel the mental flames of his pack in the far recesses of his mind, poking and prodding for a glimpse of what was to come. He opened fully to them now, needing to know how long it would take before he reached home.

_Alberta 82 Kilometers._

The highway marker slammed into their consciousness, just as the bright fire of his mind burst into a towering flame, branding them like an iron.

"Shit Jake! How fucking far did you run?" Quil's voice exploded in his mind, ricocheting like a gunshot, breaking the long silence of his voluntary exile.

"Far enough." Jacob snarled, thoughts sharp and biting. Being away from civilization so long had made him feral and vicious, both physically as well as in demeanor. "Do something useful for once and figure out how long it's gonna take me to run the fuck back."

Quil's mind raced under what felt like an order. _Did Jacob have that power?_ he wondered, knowing full well that Sam had never relinquished control. Confused and alarmed, he tried to add up the numbers, divide and multiply in his head, but math had never been his strong suit. All the while he could feel Jacob's frustration, the certain edge of mania that pervaded his every emotion and thought. There was a raw brutality to the wolf that Quil had never seen.

Leah was the one to intervene, swiftly calculating the distance, saving Quil's ass from a beating if he dared answer wrong. "Thirteen hours, give or take, depending on how fast your furry butt can run."

"I'll be there in ten." The inexorable tenor of his voice left no room for argument or disbelief.

"We'll meet you at the treaty line," Leah promised, knowing that if nothing else, Jacob Black was determined. He would claim his mate once and for all. Come hell or high water, or even certain death, there was no doubt about it. Neither wolf nor man would settle for less.

"Leah- wait." Jacob's thoughts were slightly softer, the old fear rising to the surface, revealing the scared little boy that still dwelled somewhere deep inside. "Leah, is she ok?"

The female wolf, often regarded as the pack bitch- bitter, angry and uncompassionate- breathed deeply. Instead of telling him, Leah showed him, opening her mind freely, a rare gift bestowed. Allowing Jacob to feel rather than just see the images of Bella sobbing uncontrollably on his bed. First, the all-consuming anguish of that night, wherein meek little Bella Swan cussed out the world then collapsed, only to be carried to her room by Edward Cullen, hit him square in the chest like a ton of bricks and knocking him off his feet. Then the screams which marked the full terror of Bella's nightmares during his prolonged absence, punctuated with the mumbled, desperate requests which begged in twisted sorrow...

_Jacob, my Jacob. Please come back. I need you._

Leah's own emotions reflected back an image of herself, broken and alone when the wolf had first inhabited Sam, stealing away her pride, robbing long-cherished girlhood dreams like a thief in the night. Cruel, unrelenting and absolute, the stench of betrayal had shattered her life into a thousand pieces in just a few short weeks. Leah Clearwater understood what it felt like to be alone, to have no choices, yet a thousand options still lay before you. In that second Jacob learned what others had not. Anger and resentment was the mask she wore, hiding herself away from a world that would never understand. A world that could never be told of the deep meaning or mysticism behind the suffering she faced.

To some, this wanton display of emotional turmoil may have seemed cruel. To others, exactly what both deserved. Leah Clearwater was wiser than them all. Allowing Jacob to see and feel everything was the only way for him to fully comprehend the conflict that lived and breathed deep in the confines Bella Swan's soul. Each of them needed to quit running from their demons and face them head on.

In her heart, Leah Clearwater knew that Bella loved Jacob. Perhaps more than she allowed herself to fully admit. Something held her back from admitting it though. Imprinting had to play a part in her choice and honestly, who could blame her? After seeing the fucked up mess between herself, Sam and Emily, it was just plain sensible. There had to be more though. Something else that drove her. Even if Bella refused to give herself to Jacob, why stay with the leech? It didn't add up.

While Leah pondered it all, Jacob listened intently, absorbing every last detail. He knew Bella better than anyone in the world. Yet more proof positive to his mind that they belonged together. Never in his life had he been as strong or as weak as he was right now. With great difficulty he asked the question that plagued his heart. The one whose answer could forever break him in two.

"Leah, do you think I have a chance?"

Gentleness replaced the ferocity of the female wolf. A woman's heart, kind and wise answered his thoughts with wisdom and grace. "She loves you. That's all the chance in the world. Fight for her Jacob. If you really love her, then fight. She's ready now."

Sheer force of will and the hope of a life with the slip of a girl who would either be his saving grace or ultimately spell his doom sustained and renewed him. A hundred scenarios flipped through his mind, each more wild than the last. He imagined climbing in her window, demanding she leave with him, forcing her if he had to until she saw the light. He could hide her away, live in relative solitude and she would find happiness with him.

"No Jacob. Let her come to you. Give her all the choices that he does not." Leah's kind words embedded themselves into his heart and soul.

If there was one person in the world who understood his pain, it was Leah. If there was one person in the world who understood love, it was she. The lone girl wolf in a pack of boys, doomed to see the very reason for her own broken heart each and every day. Praying for a miracle, hoping for healing that may never come.

Reaching deep within, he pushed forth as much emotion as he could muster, allowing the simple words to wash over it like a winding river. "Thank you."

Then, needing to be alone once more, Jacob crossed over mental the divide, concealing his thoughts from the rest of the pack. So preoccupied with Bella Swan, he wound his way home, never having noticed the black wolf who was witnessing the fledgling stages of his own demise.


	4. Chapter 4: I Don't Think They'd Understa

**_There cannot be more than one Alpha. The pack has chosen me. Will you rip us apart tonight? Will you turn on your brothers? Or will you end this insanity and join us again?_**

**_-Sam Uley, Breaking Dawn_**

"No."

The minute Jacob cut himself off from the rest of the pack, the black wolf exploded. Raging with fear, jealousy and anger he shot forward, ready to block their path at any cost. "No! Jacob will leave her alone!" He would not let the small girl who was not an imprint nor even tribe to divide their pack any longer.

For weeks it had been building inside of him, this ugly, vicious streak of contempt. The longer Jacob was gone, the more the pack desired his return. He weighed heavily on all of their minds and in turn, the seed of envy had begun to grow in Sam's heart. At first it had been nothing more than a simple idea that planted it. A passing thought that perhaps the young wolf was taking up his birthright by cutting himself off from the pack. Watered by jealousy and fertilized by malcontent, it grew like a thorny weed, pricking his soul until it bled.

"It's not your call, Sam. Go home to Emily." There was no rancor or bitterness in the thoughts of the lone she-wolf. It was simply a fact, one the misguided alpha needed to learn.

"You will not do this! I won't allow it!" he ordered, redoubling the weight of the command in his voice.

Ignoring the order placed on her head, Leah plunged forward, heavy paws leading the way to the invisible line where she would wait until Jacob Black returned to the pack, LaPush and home.

The blatant disregard of the injunction sent the midnight wolf reeling in shock. Tiny threads unravelled and pooled before his feet. She was dividing herself from him, whether knowingly or not. Leah's allegiance lay with Jacob now, beginning to break free of the chains that bound her.

The pain of it broke his heart. The last tie to his human life gone in a millisecond.

Unable to control the headstrong she-wolf, the waning alpha turned his attention on the lesser of the two. One whose will was weak and knew that his alpha held all the cards. "Quil! Phase back and go home until I call you. Do not go to the treaty line! You're not to help Jacob! This is going to start a war. Bella Swan has made her choice and we'll abide by it. This is over!"

Leah raced through the thick undergrowth of the forest floor in a rush of violent anger. "Like you made a choice, Sam?" she snarled.

A rush of heat licked through him. Residual disgust at his own inability to control the wolf and the hold it placed over the man in him. Anger at the lack of guilt he felt when Emily's soft lips touched his own that first time, anger at the boy who had harbored a secret crush on his girlfriend's cousin. Anger at the truth... that he did not want to stay away from her but would not release his hold over Leah. Selfishness in it's most disgusting form. A reflection of his father whenever he glimpsed himself in the mirror. In love with one woman, pining after and fucking another.

"You know I had none." The pity in his thoughts fooled no one, least of all the woman who knew him better than any other, saving even his own imprint. It was pity served up for himself alone.

"That's what you keep saying, Sam. Do you think I haven't accepted it? Guess what? I have. I just don't like it shoved in my face every fucking day. Maybe your real problem is that you want the rest of us to imprint, to follow you like a bunch of damn sheep. Then you don't have to feel so damn guilty for ripping my heart out!"

The wolf reeled backwards, shocked by the violence of her words. Even more from the accuracy in which she pinpointed the truest sick desire of his heart.

The voice of the she-wolf became menacing, laced with with an eerie sort of calm that raised the hackles on the back of his neck. Leah sounded... _deadly_. "Don't think I haven't seen it in your thoughts. Do you see yourself, Sam Uley? The rest of us kept our humanity. You turned into a controlling bastard."

"I'm the alpha of this pack. Everything I do is to protect our people. I haven't said one word about everyone keeping up patrols around Charlie's, but I'm not going to let Jacob come back here and start a damn war because he can't have Bella Swan!"

The she-wolf felt the new power that was slowly rising within, burning like wildfire through her veins and inflaming her senses. A new aggressiveness, one that refused the demands of her alpha. The wolf yearned to dominate him, to force his legs to bow before her in respect. The heartbroken woman in her aroused by the prospect. "You make me sick. I'm glad you imprinted on Emily. I don't even know who you are are anymore, Sam Uley. You're not the man I loved. You're nothing more than a coward hiding beneath a bunch of swagger. A coward who's hungry with power and jealous when faced with losing it."

Quil ran at breakneck speed, nipping the back of Leah's heels, knowing she would fight the black wolf until the ground was stained red with blood. "Leah, stop!" he begged. "Don't. It's not worth it. He's not worth it."

The final statement enraged the wolf, forcing assertion in a desperate show of might. "Quil! Phase back! That's an order!"

The weight of the alpha command slapped him full force in the chest, but Quil Aetera kept running, resisting the urge to fall to his knees.

"Looks like you're not his alpha anymore."

"The hell I'm not! I'm not going to let Jacob Black destroy this pack! Quil phase back now!"

"Who do you think you are to talk to him like that?"

"If he meets Jacob at the line it's going to cause nothing but trouble! I'm not going to let his sorry ass make this situation worse!"

"You're an asshole, Sam."

"Quil, go home or I'll make sure you don't see Claire for a month!"

The wolf should have stopped dead in his tracks and phased back, but instead redoubled his speed shooting past Leah like a rocket sending dark, dry oak leaves the color of his fur flying in the wind. His imprint might be a child, but she was his. The very idea of her sweet little face in tears, her heart pained by the separation of the imprint filled him with uncontrollable rage. The sweet chocolate wolf replaced by something more feral and vicious.

Leah laughed menacingly, knowing the damage Quil would inflict would be far worse than her own. "Wrong move, Sam. You'd punish a baby? An imprint? Did you even stop to consider what that could do to her? To him?"

She was the lone female wolf of this pack. Mother, keeper, protector and mate to all. She could take and choose to mate at will, allowing no room for romantic attachments that might detract from her purpose. Slowly the realization washed over her, cleansing her soul and providing peace as she took up the mantle.

Leah Clearwater was the Alpha female. A mirror reflection of Jacob Black.

"No... it can't be." Sam Uley stumbled backwards, knocked off of his feet by the sheer force of the blow. Already the war to bow before her buckled his knees. The last threads of control held the muscle of his legs taught, fighting instinct and submission with no more than will. His thoughts betrayed him. A rage of disbelief born from the jealousy of man conjured sick images in his mind. A naked tangle of powerful arms and legs, skin that no other had the right to touch, sliding beneath Jacob Black's fingertips. "You're not his imprint! He'll never belong to you!"

"I want no one to belong to me. I am Mother, not sister or friend. I will never take away free will, never find need of an imprint... and neither will Jacob."

A hundred years ago, perhaps they would have been mated. The Great Spirits had interceded on their behalf. The female wolf an anomaly, adding a new page to the storied history of their people. A legend that would be told around the fires for many generations to come. Her purpose, her place in this pack was to absolve sin and bind the wounds. The magic of their ancestors flowed thickly through her veins, the power and wisdom of their grandmothers serving as her guiding force. Her wolf was not the gentle one, but a voice of reason and council to the true Alpha. There was no need for a beta when two Alphas ruled as one.

Sam Uley would bow and bend to their will... or he and his imprint would leave their lands, never to return.

"No. I won't give up my position. It is mine to take. I'm the one who guided you. I'm the one who taught you. I am Levi Uley's grandson!"

"The grandson of Ephraim Black bows to no one, Sam. It was never your position to take."

"Quil! Phase back!" Sam shouted at the wolf, his eyes wide and frightened as if staring down the barrel of a gun. Claws extended, teeth bared and thirsting for blood, the brown wolf leaped sinking his monstrous jaws into the black wolf's fur.

Sam was larger, stronger and more skilled. The brown wolf was on his back, still fighting, raking his claws, sinking them like razors through his skin. The alpha was not to be deterred. Teeth bared, he went for the throat in a display of power.

"NO! He is mine!" Shouted Leah, lithely diving between the two and snapping her jaws in a show of force. "Go home and wait Sam. When Jacob comes, be ready."

The black wolf cowered in fear, just beginning to understand that his time to lead was over... but he would not give in so easily. Tail between his legs, he ventured toward home where his imprint awaited to lick his wounds.

The fight for power and dominance had just begun. So wrapped up in their own drama, none noticed the gray wolf lingering under the cover of trees, observing the first battle of this war.

That day, Leah Clearwater claimed what was hers for the taking. Striding over to Quil, naked and panting for breath, the bronze goddess embraced her birthright.

He could no more resist her than a bee to honey when she circled round, head cocked to the side taking his measure.

"You will be mine." Her voice sounded otherworldly, seductive and strange. Her long, slim fingers traced the curvature of his spine, fingernails scratching lightly over his skin. Leah's hands snaked around his waist from behind, gripping his cock with brutality, a carnal assault of the flesh.

Quil's chest heaved, anger still pulsing thickly through his veins. He shuddered in anticipation when she ran her nose along his neck, scenting him like a bitch in heat. "I will take all of you," she whispered. "Whenever and wherever I want."

The tip of her tongue grazed the lobe of his ear, warm breath blowing past his already heated cheek. "I want you. But... if you don't want me, go back to Sam, right now or go home. There's a new Alpha in this pack, and I plan to give whole new meaning to the phrase 'pack bitch'. Jacob will return, and when he does, I will be by his side. Not beta, but Alpha Queen to his King. I will never take a mate. I will never imprint. I am your mother, sister, friend and lover. This is who I am."

He turned then, seeing the truth of it in her eyes. This was a new world. The cords that bound him to Sam fell to his feet, severed beyond repair.

The hardened tips of her full, heavy breasts brushed against the straining muscles of his chest. Rose-colored lips curved in a seductive smile, plump and round, begging to be kissed, licked and suckled.

She stepped backward, Quil watching her in a state of dreamlike trance. "Follow me."

The sway of her hips beckoned him forward, the lines of her body moving gracefully through the tall green grass blowing in the autumn breeze. Guiding him deep into the forest, the she-wolf leapt over bubbling brooks and moss covered logs. Dappled sunlight shone through the canopy of trees, illuminating the bronze sheen of her skin, causing her raven hair to shine blue in the amber light. Her heartbeat pounded out a hypnotic rhythm, forcing him to follow close behind.

The forest held many secrets, rich with beauty and wonder. Endless delights of nature hidden away from all of mankind. It was in such a place where she turned her smokey eyes upon him, steam from the deep pool behind her rising into thick mist and fog. A fine sheen of sweat formed on her brow, one lone river carving itself over the mountain of her breast, taunting as if to beg for him to follow the path it traced with his tongue.

Flesh and blood. Body and soul. Alpha and Omega.

"Come to me." The smooth seduction of her voice called him forward. A hard light glittered in her eyes. "Take me out here where we belong. Taste my body."

The wolf reeled with thick arousal. The need to consume overriding the bonds of the imprint. Slowly, he stepped towards her, desire pulsating in his veins. Ready for the she-wolf to claim.

His mouth attacked her in anger and lust. Driving his tongue deep between her legs, pressing her soft skin against the smooth rock of the pool. The heated water danced around his feet like liquid fire stoking the flames.

When the first orgasm rocked her body, leaving her trembling with salacious delight, he stepped away, waiting for his Queen's command.

She turned, offering herself to him bestialy in the way of the wolf.

Quil drove himself deep inside of her, stretching and filling her like no other before him. Not Sam or the string of lovers she'd taken in desperation for a release. Humans found in smoke-filled bars, the stench of liquor and stale smoke polluting and foul to her heightened senses. With them she had to be careful, never allowing herself to overpower or frighten away men with lesser power.

The wolf who rode her from behind dominated, while she thrust back hard, savagely pushing him to the limits of his strength. The tips of his fingers dug hard into the curve of her hips, the concrete muscle of his form beating against her while he drove into her with the might of a jackhammer.

With each thrust, the chains that bound him began to crumble. The iron links elasticizing and growing weak. Both felt the shift, the magic of their people transforming deep in the hidden wells of their souls.

The second orgasm tumbled over her like an avalanche of snow. Fast, heavy and suffocating. Leah gasped for breath beneath Quil's relentless assault on her body. Heat licked her spine, a subterfuge of the warrior queen pretending to lay dormant in the womanly body. It begged for release, forcing a vicious snarl from her throat.

It was time for she to dominate. Leah pushed Quil to the ground and climbed on top of him, sliding down on the hot, slick length which pointed north to the stars. Grasping him by the shoulders, she pulled his chest flush with her own, riding him hard and fast on the damp forest floor. The wolf edged further to the surface. Fingernails extending and tearing the flesh of each other's backs to crimson ribbon.

Teeth elongated and sharpened within their mouths. The innate need to sink her canines into his neck forcing its way into Leah's consciousness. When he offered it to her, she did not blink, but bit down hard, the iron taste of blood sating the Warrior Alpha Queen. After she had taken his body into her own, the she-wolf bared her neck to him in return, giving Quil the choice of man.

"You may claim me as Queen, take a part of my spirit into your own."

The moment he pierced the yielding flesh, the ties that bound him to Sam snapped inexorably. Forever shattered beyond reckoning. When the third orgasm forced the she-wolf to howl in satisfaction, he spilled himself deep inside of her. It was then that the imprint broke. That man and wolf quelled into one being, equal halves of a whole with no need for a calming presence.

"Mine." The lustful growl reverberated in the deep silence of the forest, startling the birds from the trees. The she-wolf eyed the man who stepped out of the shadows intently, the curve of her smile all-knowing and sinful.

Quil did not step aside, instead he moved behind her, brushing the tender mark on her neck with warm lips, leaving a trail of liquid fire in their wake.

Leah's chest rose and fell, the weight of her upturned breasts swaying with each draw of breath. Desire still coated her tongue, dripping like wild honey and begging to be tasted.

Quil's presence behind her did nothing to temper the lust which burned between her thighs. His warm breath tickled the side of her cheek and she could feel the upturned corner of his mouth when he whispered to the approaching wolf. "Take her." It was a demand to be fulfilled, a destiny fated.

All around them the sounds of nature echoed through the forest. The soft rush of wind, rustling branches of sitka and birch. Brightly plumed birds called to one another. Elk, mountain lion and deer chased each other through the dense thicket. The woods provided song, a masterful symphony designed by the Gods to delight the senses.

As if in a dream, the man stalked forward, the powerful muscle of his thighs guiding him, the evidence of his manhood swaying heavily between his legs. Sweat dripped from his brow. His nostrils flared inhaling the arousal of the she-wolf, a pungent aphrodisiac- causing his balls to throb in anticipation.

Semen dripped down her legs. The moisture weeping from her pink folds glistened in the fading sunlight. Quil wrapped his hands around Leah's thighs, parting her legs widely in invitation. "Take her, now," he growled, encouraging the wolf to slide his cock deep into her trembling body.

Embry groaned, Leah's wet heat encasing him tightly like a glove. Rose colored nipples, taut and smoother than silk, cut against the hard muscle of his chest, eliciting snarls of carnal thirst from deep inside his soul.

She came hard when he slammed into her. Quivering and throwing back her head, Leah released an otherworldly howl that shook the leaves from the trees. Somewhere in the distance, a sister wolf howled in unison.

Rough hands gripped her hips tightly. Claws sinking into her flesh, rending her immobile. Embry's black eyes watched the place of their union, reflecting back deep satisfaction in living out this secretive fantasy. A fantasy that plagued the male wolves of their pack from the first day they had seen her soft, bronzed body illuminated by the moonlight.

The rough side of tongue dipped and swirled, lips pulling the satin flesh of her breasts into his mouth, suckling and relishing the salty sweat which clung to her skin. The desire to taste more coursed through him. Pulling out fast, Embry ducked his head, attacking the slick folds between her legs. The potency of her scent sent him into a blind fervor, causing a heated frenzy of fingers and tongue to pull yet another orgasm from the she-wolf.

It rocked through her hard, forcing her thighs to clench tightly around his neck, while he greedily drank of her. The rush of fluid sliding down his throat like cool, crisp water on a hot summer's day.

Leah pushed Embry forward, flying backward into the water. Their heated bodies sending the temperature skyrocketing and the mist to thicken in the already dense air. The she-wolf needed to dominate. To claim and protect. To heal the wounded heart of the warrior that lay within Embry Call.

One small hand pressed symbolically over his beating heart while she rode him with the full power of the wolf forcing its way through her pulsing veins.

The magic in the air shimmered and flowed around their bodies like gentle ocean waves. The tide of mystic forces relentlessly washed over Embry's mind, making the wolf scream to be let out. His hips thrust upwards, driving deeper and deeper into the secrets of her body. He watched as the glint of her eyes turned upon him, as if seeing the pulse quicken beneath the bronzed skin of his neck. The iris of her eyes tinged with a golden ring, canine teeth extending in her open mouth.

He welcomed her mark.

Body longing to feel the thick liquid of her desire slide over his ready cock, Embry sped up his movements. Ready to mingle her scent with his own.

"You are mine." The statement hung in the air, the words surrounding and wrapping them in a blanket of magic woven by birthright, gifted from the spirit of warriors who came before them. "You will have no need of another. Your will is your own, never to be taken away. No faceless woman will lay claim because I do this day. I am your mother, sister and queen. I take a piece of your spirit into my own. It belongs to me until you willingly claim the soul of another."

"Tell me... am I your queen?"

Emby bared his neck to her in reply to all she demanded of him.

Threads wove themselves tightly around his heart when she pierced the soft juncture of flesh above his shoulder. Stars flashed behind his eyes, the silvery wolf inside howled in victory. There would be no imprint on his soul. No chains that bound him save to the Alphas of his pack, forged with the iron grip of loyalty and respect.

An hour later all three looked at each other askance, wondering what it was that they had just done, not fully recalling or understanding the magic of the ancestors that flowed thickly in their veins. A mighty gift bestowed, lives forever changed among the leaves and grass of the forest floor.

Later they raced to the treaty line to wait. The scent of fornication embedded deep within their pores. A pack of three, ready to swear allegiance and loyalty to the new Alpha king.


	5. Chapter 5: I Know That You Can Feel Me

**_You know her, Jacob. You connect to her on a level that I don't even understand. You are part of her, and she is part of you._**

**_-Edward Cullen, Breaking Dawn_**

Rain washed against the windows, cascading in sheets down the clear glass. Outside, dense fog rose and hovered in the air over the grass like clouds of smoke obscuring the view of the vast Olympic forest. Inside, tiny pixie lanterns glowed softly, bathing the room in twinkling light.

There, in the quiet stillness of Charlie Swan's clapboard home, a tiny girl sat curled up in an old rocking chair. A brightly colored, woolen patchwork quilt carefully sewn by her grandmother cocooned her emaciated body in a desperate attempt to mimic the warmth of the boy she missed and loved so dearly.

It was how Bella passed many of her days now. Closed off from the rest of the world. To outsiders it appeared to be a mirror image of the depression she suffered when Edward had left. They were wrong. The pain of it ran much deeper this time. It was a despondence, a missing fragment of her soul. This was not the crushed hopes and dreams of a teenage girl. It was not a gaping hole in her heart caused from deceit, inadequacy or condemnation. No, this was much worse.

Jacob was gone... taking all of her with him.

Since the day she had awoken in his room and found that notebook, she had folded into herself. The world continued to turn and she with it, but when stillness crept in, time and Bella Swan stood still.

Every so often she would glimpse a pair of glowing eyes staring up at her from the shadowy cover of the trees. Which wolf they belonged to, she did not know. Nor did she have the heart to find out.

_It's not Jacob._

The tiny bedroom that had once echoed of girlish laughter had become her only solitude. A refuge in her tiny world which had been fast-tracked on a collision course heading towards death since the day she first stepped foot in Forks. Or, more accurately, the day that Edward Cullen had decided to insert himself into her her life.

The wedding dress of her dreams had been banished to the far corner of the hall closet. Relegated to share space with Charlie's well-oiled guns and mountain of fishing gear.

Three days ago she had been awakened far too early by Alice who had come for yet another fitting, dragging Rosalie with her. _Damn vampires that don't sleep forget I do. _The tiny vamp was completely aghast at what Bella had done. An argument ensued, one wherein Bella arose victorious. Refusing to feel belittled, uncaring about fashion, she allowed all of it to go in one ear and out the other, though she was reminded daily of her crime against fashion. The horrified look on Alice's face had been well worth the price of admission. Rosalie just looked on with thinly veiled amusement.

Furthermore, Alice was not allowed in her bedroom anymore. Bella had put her foot down for the first time in over a year. No more perusing her closet, sneaking away her favorite things or exclaiming that Bella needed a shopping trip. Her bedroom had become a Cullen Free Zone.

In here she refused to allow one piece of the wedding to mar her sight. No scrap of ribbon, fabric sample or bit of lace was permitted to cross the threshold. In short, no Cullens allowed.

The window which Edward had climbed through so many times before was nailed shut in a fit of irritation. Never to be opened again. A blackened thumbnail and the ugly half crescents that marred the white wood bore proof of her determination in this feat.

The hurt etched on Edward's face should have made her sorry for the action. Instead, it made her feel smug. When he asked why it had been done, she did not have the energy to waste on a conversation in which each reason would be invalidated. So instead, she lied. Bella told him that she wished for privacy in the week leading up to their wedding. That soon enough she would be one of them, so in true gentleman fashion he accepted her reasoning, albeit reluctantly. However, Edward was certain that once Bella was turned he would be able to finally penetrate the vast ocean of her mind.

She hoped not.

Edward would not be happy with what he found there.

In truth, Bella had grown weary of his nearly constant presence in her bedroom. The way he watched her at night, unmoving, eyes boring holes through her. The quiet desperation to hear her thoughts. The way he begged her to sleep so that he might know her mind through bits of incoherent babble and broken dreams. It made her feel a bit like a science experiment. A lab rat under close observation by bespectacled men wearing pocket protectors while carrying clipboards full of carefully documented notes.

In the back of her mind, the word creepy floated around in the kind of letters you'd see on a poster for a B-Rated horror flick. If Charlie or Renee ever knew, they'd have her committed... right after Charlie arrested Edward for trespassing, stalking and any other trumped up charge he could find. If she dared argue that it was love making him do it, her parents would be appalled by her twisted idea of a healthy relationship. What was worse, she actually agreed.

_There's nothing healthy about it. _

Charlie. Bella knew she'd be leaving him soon. She regretted that Renee had gotten so much time with her and he so little. Just now as she was finally getting to know him, she'd have to abandon him. The guilt ate away at her heart like a cancer, slowly eroding it away to dust.

Vaguely she had wondered how the Cullens planned to fake her death. Would it be a mysterious illness? Or maybe a random murder? It would be big news in a town as small as Forks. Then again, they were probably counting on that. After all, the Volturi might be watching.

She could see the headlines now.

**TRAGEDY ROCKS SMALL TOWN**

Daughter of local police chief, Charlie Swan was the apparent victim of a random mugging. Bella Cullen, aged 18, died of a gunshot wound to the head. She was pronounced dead on arrival by father-in-law and distinguished doctor, Carlisle Cullen, upon arrival at Anchorage Hospital. Her new husband, Edward Cullen, declined to comment, asking that the family be allowed time to grieve.

Our heartfelt sympathies go out to the family and many friends of . Her death is a tragedy that will not soon be forgotten.

If she closed her eyes, Bella could envision the scene of her funeral. A pathetic tableau in which her parents huddled together beneath a black umbrella shielding them from the ever present Washington rain. Renee would be awash with tears, limp at Charlie's side, lost in her own grief. Phil somewhere in the background. The two would gaze at an empty casket littered with ugly carnations and green ferns.

Nearby, ridiculous arrangements of pink and silver roses would outshine her own parent's tribute. Alice's over the top donation to the farce contrived by the Cullens. Billy would be there, that much she was sure of. Perhaps Sue too, in order to keep up the facade. Her so called friends from high school would huddle around, too self-absorbed to fully comprehend the tragedy of her simple life.

Jacob. Would he come? Would the angry howls of wolves echo in the distance?

She would never know. Somewhere deep in the vast Alaskan wilderness, Bella Cullen would be tucked away from the world. There she would see the landscape through crimson eyes and satiate her newborn bloodlust by feeding on elk, deer and grizzly bears.

A monster. Nothing more. A mere shadow of her former self.

Bella snorted, thinking of herself tearing apart a mountain lion. _Probably tear off my arm at the first attempt._ The glitter of vampire life had lost its appeal.

The incessant wailing of the telephone downstairs did nothing to rouse Bella from her morbid daydream. She had turned off her cell, mentally unable to be bothered by trivial things or the random call from Jessica digging for information on the wedding.

Staring outside, the only thing she could think of was Jake. Was he cold? Hungry? Did he miss her the way she missed him?

"Where are you tonight?" she whispered. "Are you alright? I miss you so much."

It didn't matter if the pack could hear her or not. Though her voice was probably drowned out by the rain. All she wanted was one last goodbye. To tell him she was sorry for the mess her life had created. To give him the answer to that awful question, why?

Suddenly she was seized by a thought. One last attempt. Maybe Jacob wasn't here, but perhaps he could still see her, feel her somehow.

Bella threw the quilt from her shoulders and raced down the stairs. The phone was ringing off the hook, but she had no time for games. Unless it was Seth or Billy calling to say that Jacob had come home, she wasn't interested. That's what answering machines were for.

Wrenching open the drawer where Charlie kept his junk, Bella shoved aside the miscellaneous fishing lures, duck tape and paper clips to grab the old paint spattered hammer he kept in there.

Rushing back to her room, Bella pried loose the awkwardly driven nails she had only just put in, scratching the glass and slicing open her finger in the process. When the last nail had come loose, clattering to the floor, she threw open the window and allowed the moist fall air to caress her skin.

Bella leaned out the window, the pouring rain soaking her instantly. Drops clung to her eyelashes, her thick curls hung heavy and straight under the weight of the water. She embraced it and all that it stood for.

Mother Nature had washed clean her soul.

Then she shouted at the top of her lungs. "Jacob! Jacob Black, can you hear me? Come home! I'm sorry! Just come home!"

The lonely howl of a wolf was the only reply.


	6. Chapter 6:Sooner or Later It's Over

_**He thought you were the one person in the world with as much reason to hate the Cullens as he does. Sam feels sort of… betrayed that you would just let them back into your life like they never hurt you.**_

_**-Jacob Black, Eclipse**_

Leah, Quil and Embry paced the treaty line, watching, waiting, hoping... Sam stood sentinel at the treeline, flanked by Jared and Paul. The tension that simmered in the air was palpable.

Collin and Brady, as well as Seth, were nowhere to be found save in their warm beds where the three slept blissfully unaware of the drastic circumstances that would forever change the dynamic of the pack. At one point, Leah wondered what her baby brother would make of the situation. Younger than she, Seth Clearwater was unwaveringly loyal and often wiser than all of them put together.

Leah watched Sam intently. The paranoia which ran through him was obvious, reflected in his every move. Angry, frustrated, spoiling for a fight. The hackles of his neck were raised, ears and eyes alert for any sign of weakness... or opportunity.

Leah could still hear his thoughts, but barely. A division had occurred. It was as if she were listening to the other wolves from deep under water. Their voices indistinct, muted. Only Quil and Embry were clear to her now.

Separate entities. One being.

The hour drew closer to Jacob's return. Though distant, the wolves sensed he was near. Power radiated through them like waves of heat shimmering on a hot summer day. The brilliant flame of his mind grew stronger with each step of his heavy paws. Like a ball of light ready to burst forth into a blazing inferno of flame, it would soon consume them all. The rightful Alpha would take his place amongst them, fortifying the hearts of the warriors who lay within.

Leah's sleek, silvery form paced the line, protectively guarding the two wolves who followed closely at her heels. When they had first arrived, Sam recoiled in shock at being unable to feel their presence or touch their minds.

Then... he smelled them.

The heady aroma of lust and sweat permeated through the damp early night air. The undeniable scent of sex clung heavily to their bodies, their thick fur having been washed in the sink of desire. It seemed to mock him somehow. The spirits had blessed him with heightened senses, forced him to walk away from the woman he loved and now he was forced to smell the mark she had left on other, less worthy men than he.

It was more than he could bear. He wore the suffering of his heart, the reluctance to let Leah go, like a mantle woven of pride and shame. If he could not have her, then neither could anyone else.

The black wolf crouched low, snarling and baring his teeth, ready to charge the two males in a show of dominance. The she-wolf dove in front of him, holding her ground and head high, refusing to back down even an inch. The left side of her muzzle curved around her teeth in a malicious grin. The time for the black wolf to lead was over. Before the sun rose over the horizon, Sam Uley would bow to her. The irony of it was not lost upon her.

The black wolf stood down, backing away but never tearing his eyes from the ones who had stolen what first belonged to him. They would pay for their sins.

The minds of Embry, Quil and Leah had never been so focused. Melded into one collective consciousness rendering direct thought unnecessary when such cohesiveness existed. Together they would wait... then they would fight. Life or death, claw for blood and brother against brother, they would win.

Tired of the game and anxious for a fight, Paul shifted back to man. The golden hue of his skin shone brightly in the moonlight. Chest heaving, nostrils flaring and wearing nothing but an all knowing grin on his face as he approached the three.

Watching him intently, Leah knew. This man was hungry. But, whether it was for a fight or sex, she did not know. The anger Sam harbored transferred to him, feeding his inherent desire for chaos.

Paul stalked the she-wolf, ignoring the vicious growls of those who flanked her sides. The warrior was challenging her, of that much she could be certain. His gaze darted between the two next to her as if determining the best route of attack.

Crouching low, Leah snarled, spit and anger lashing from her tongue in an almost violent, protective fury.

The man smiled at her in arrogance... and error. It was the final straw. Leah leapt forward, her sharp claws raking over the heavy muscles of his chest, knocking Paul to the ground with such force that the earth trembled beneath their feet.

Leah shifted back into the woman, leaned down, clenching one hand around his throat. A wicked smile played upon her crimson lips, the chilling sound of her voice freezing the blood in Paul's veins. "Save your challenges for Jacob, Paul. If I were you, I'd give in now. He's coming and he's angry."

For the first time, there was real fear in the eyes of Paul Lahote.

"It's time to choose which side you're on." With that she released him, dragging her fingers across the lines of broken skin and then smeared the blood of the warrior over her heart. "You belong to me, Paul. Before the dawn breaks, you will follow Jacob and me or you will leave this reservation behind you." Her eyes lit on Sam who paced just yards away, ready and willing to attack. "Don't be foolish."

The words might have been directed at Paul, but they were meant for her ex-lover.

In a flash of rage Leah threw herself backwards and exploded into the wolf, a feat which before now only Jacob had been able to attain, unnerving all but Quil and Embry. They knew the power that flowed within her... and so in themselves.

Another hour passed, then two. The black night holding sway over the creatures of the forest. A hallucinogenic simmer of sound echoed in all directions. In the distance, the howls of wild wolves bayed at the moon. Crickets serenaded the sleeping crow and the roar of a mountain lion could be heard triumphantly capturing its prey.

Suddenly, the earth beneath their feet began to shake. The unmistakable glow of ancient magic flowed thickly through the air. The clouds parted and in an instant he was there, standing before them like the powerful warrior he was, walking with the Gods of their people. The warm rust of his silken fur shone bright under the moonlight and the unmistakable fire of authority, a birthright glittering in his eyes. The shadow of greatness fell across his face. In it a glimpse of the leader and Chief he would become with the passage of time.

The wolves stood still, time ceasing to exist for but a single moment.

Jacob Black had returned.

The mental divide imposed upon his mind cracked wide open in an earthquake of thunder. Flashes of the day cascaded into Jacob's thoughts like clear mountain water. Leaves and grass danced and swirled on the wind as the Spirits surrounded him.

They were showing him the way.

The ghosts of his ancestors provided him with clarity and deep understanding.

The pack, _his pack_ was waiting for him.

In a wild fury of claws and fur, he lunged for the black wolf that stood opposite of him in the clearing. The directive was simple. To dominate. To take control.

To lead.

His massive body slammed into the older wolf with all the force of a runaway train. Teeth gnashed and bit, digging through the dense black fur to find purchase in soft skin.

Sam Uley howled in pain, yet still his wolf fought, refusing to relinquish control. The other wolves watched from the sidelines, desperate to join the battle. Leah, Quil and Embry kept a broad pace around the circle, growling viciously at any whose paws dared to inch forward.

When Seth burst onto the scene he skidded to a halt, quickly taking in the wild disarray before him. Without hesitation, he joined his sister, closing his own mind to that of the other wolves. When his allegiance shifted, new power ran through him undiluted. His mind immediately registered the sacrifices that were being made and all that was to come.

In an act of willful submission, Seth quickly bowed before her, baring his throat and bending his legs. The points of her teeth barely grazed him and somehow he knew the choice was his, and his alone to make. Leah Clearwater, the broken woman of La Push, his only sister, could save Seth from a lifetime of servitude.

When his allegiance shifted, a new power, undiluted and strong rolled through his body, swelling it until he thought the bright light would burn through his mind. Seth's loyalty, his ties to Sam and the pack had changed. Jacob Black was his alpha now. Jacob and Leah. The magic that flowed through their hearts and souls extended to him, filling and renewing his strength.

Chaos continued to ensue. Paul and Jared desperate to dive into the fray. Suddenly, the two youngest of their group phased in for early patrols. The horrific images of the raging battle spilled through Collin and Brady's minds like battery acid. Sam lay on the ground, crimson blood pouring from deep, wide slashes across his belly. The wounds barely given time to heal before Jacob unleashed yet another wicked assault on the midnight wolf.

Wild and desperate, the two boys ran fast toward the treaty line. Neither one able to control their impulses or the frantic beat of their hearts. Their bodies pulsed with fear. The rage that raced through the rest of the pack forced itself into their psyche, neither yet sure about who or what exactly it was they should be worried about.

Jacob pushed his thoughts forward, focusing on the black wolf that lay broken and bleeding before him. "Yield to me, Sam. You are no longer the Alpha of this pack."

Neither wolf nor man was ready to admit defeat. The answer came in the form of attack. His large, broken body twisting and darting to clamp his massive jaws down hard on the hind leg of the russet wolf. Bone crunched between Sam's teeth forcing a howl of pain to rip from Jacob's throat.

The blow should have been crippling, but as quickly as it happened, the bones miraculously began to knit themselves together.

One by one, the wolves watched uneasily as they felt Sam Uley's power begin to fade.

Collin and Brady were the first to bend. Stepping forward and offering their necks up to Leah in the ultimate act of submission. They joined the circle, now facing two of the most deadly wolves in the pack, holding them at bay.

Sam watched it all in disgust. He narrowed his eyes at Jacob Black, the muzzle of his snout curving upwards, revealing sharp teeth, dripping with spittle and enemy blood.

"For her? For Bella Swan? A little white girl that wants to become a vampire? You'd pit brother against brother over nothing but a piece of vampire trash? You're not fit to lead. You're nothing but a greedy little boy in wolf's clothing."

Sam's thoughts were vicious and brutal in nature, intended to frighten and impress the rest of the pack. To show them that he was their true leader. It was he alone who could show them peace and control their wild nature with dignity and honor. _Jacob doesn't deserve this._ _Who is he that never had to work for his rights, his lineage handed to him on a silver platter! An honor he never wanted to begin with! How dare he challenge me! How dare he take Leah away! She is mine!_

There it was. His thoughts laid bare for the pack to see. Anger and resentment manifesting in its most ugly form.

Jealousy.

It was a mistake.

The insults to Bella, to him, to his destiny did nothing to allay the anger that had manifested inside of Jacob Black. Instead it served only to intensify and fuel the ball of fire that grew within his belly. The wolf lunged yet again, the powerful force of his paws slamming into Sam's ribs like an iron sledgehammer, shattering them in one mighty blow.

The black wolf fell to the ground in defeat where he lay prostrate and stunned. With wide-eyed horror he stared up at the heaving figure of Jacob Black. It was not the pain which startled him, but something else. Something much more frightening. It was in that instant he knew. Jacob was not just stronger than him. He was drawing energy from the other wolves.

With each warrior that shifted allegiance, Jacob's power doubled in size and weight, bleeding dry all that had once belonged to the waning alpha. When Paul stepped forward and then Jared too, Sam realized what he should have known all along. The strength he held was not his alone. It was the might of an entire pack. One which never really belonged to him. When the last two allegiances shifted, Sam Uley felt something he had not known in over two years.

Silence.

He was completely and utterly alone.

With that realization and the broken mess his once, strong body had become, Samuel Uley was the first wolf to bare his neck and swear allegiance to Jacob Black.

In a show of dominance, Jacob leaned forward and without hesitation sunk his razor-like teeth deep into flesh and bone. The crimson flow of blood stained the ground red with the glory of battle. The once mighty alpha had fallen, whimpering with agony and grief. The bonds of the pack that had once been bound so tightly around his heart were completely severed beyond repair. His time to lead was over. With it came certain knowledge.

_Jacob Black's had just begun._

One by one, the other wolves came before Jacob showing him fealty and respect by baring their necks to him with animal submission. When Leah Cleawater stood before the new Alpha, he first bowed to her, turning his head ever so slightly to allow her access to the soft juncture of his neck. In the minds of his brothers, Jacob had seen it all. The healing of Embry's heart, the shattered imprint between Quil and Claire. It was the power Leah held, yet she did no more than lightly graze her teeth over his skin to bestow her gift before baring her own supple neck to him.

When Jacob's teeth parted Leah's flesh, flashes of light lit up his mind like a golden ball of fire. Fine threads crisscrossed around the field, connecting each wolf as one. Their ties to each other now cemented and consecrated in blood. The power of one rushed through them all, alighting their senses and causing the veins beneath their skin to pulse with magic and newfound strength.

Lifting his eyes to the trees, a flash of white streaked past the Alpha's line of vision.

Leech.

Jacob Black took off in a sprint, chasing through the forest, careless of treaty boundaries and dusty, paper promises. Tonight, he'd begin to reclaim what never should have been given away. Tonight, he'd right the wrongs of his grandfathers.

The warriors would make a stand.

The pack followed, giving chase quickly and efficiently without hesitance. Their thoughts focused on the hunt, the kill, awaiting a signal from their new leader. The instinct to destroy both overwhelming and intoxicating.

The Cullens were waiting for them, crouched low on the gravel driveway of their secluded forest home and glowing starkly in the waning moonlight.

Jacob shifted back into the man, allowing the first glimpse of his new body to the both the pack and their enemies.

He had grown taller in the passing months and days as the spirits of the ancients consumed and strengthened his body. The muscles of his body were more defined, shadows loomed over him while the first rays of sunlight cast an eerie golden glow over his skin.

There was nothing left of Jacob Black that spoke of child nor of man. In his eyes alone the story of anger, dominance and unanimity with the wolf could be told.

"You're on our land, mutt." The animosity in Edward Cullen's hungry, black eyes did not go unnoticed, nor did his sudden move which sent Carlisle's arm out to block him.

Jacob Black stepped forward without fear or remorse. The tenor of his voice vicious, cunning and deliberate. Tonight the cold ones would find no empathy.

"That's where you're wrong. This land falls under our protection from now on."

When Carlisle Cullen looked into Jacob Black's eyes that day he knew they would never visit Forks again. If they did, they would surely die by the hand of the wolves.

Yet Edward's innate hatred of his rival overshadowed all else. An ugly sneer twisted his beautiful face into something vile, showing the true perversion of his nature. "Need I remind you that the terms of the treaty states-"

Jacob refused to allow him to speak. Stepping yet closer to the hands of the enemy, he showed not an ounce of fear. "And need I remind you that treaty means nothing to me. If any of you so much as put one toe out of line, we will kill you. So unless you want us to roast marshmallows over your ashes, I suggest you get the fuck out of town and fast."

The Cullens shifted nervously, knowing there was only one way this could end. Still, Edward did not relent. Surely, his arrogance would be the death of them all. "See, that's going to be a problem, Jacob Black. In case you've forgotten, there's a wedding here in another week," he reminded him, deliberately throwing it in the wolf's face that it was he who had won Bella's heart.

Jacob laughed, a maniacal sound that reverberated through the air, frightening the birds from the trees. "That's where you're wrong. I haven't forgotten anything. You won't marry Bella Swan. Mark my words, asshole, it's not gonna fucking happen."

Edward bolted from the porch at lightning speed towards the perceived threat closing his hand around Jacob's throat in seconds.

The muscles in Jacob's arms rippled beneath his warm, russet skin. With inhuman strength he reached upward and pushed Edward Cullen back by the shoulders, sending his concrete body flying backwards without his limbs attached. The vampires hissed in fury as the pack inched forward ready to dismember what was left of the enemy's body.

Esme cried out in agony while Jasper sent waves of calm, out trying desperately to diffuse the volatile situation that had quickly fallen apart.

The family of vampires visibly relaxed under his spell, but the wolves still growled and snapped with righteous fury.

Jacob's lip curved above his teeth, his appearance ghastly and frightening with Edward's arms still dangling from the cords of his neck. He picked them off, sadistically busting the fingers one by one in a menacing display of raw power.

Jasper had never been so terrified in his vampiric existence.

Jacob leaned down, whispering softly into Edward's ear. "Before the day of your wedding dawns, Bella will be mine."

Then tearing off into the waking sun, Jacob Black went home to wait. No longer seeking death, but the promise of life.

Bella Swan would be his.

_**What I am was born in me. It's a part of who I am, who my family is, who we all are as a tribe — it's the reason why we're still here.**_

_**-Jacob Black, Eclipse**_


	7. Chapter 7: Bleed Your Life

"_**I could see what he saw, and I knew he was right. If the world was the sane place it was supposed to be, Jacob and I would have been together. And we would have been happy. He was my soul mate in that world." - Bella Swan, Eclipse**_

She could feel it the second she crossed the treaty line. What's more she saw the pack running through the trees alongside her car. Silent sentinels watching over her every move. Wolves escorting her the entire way.

_Jacob Black had returned._

He had not come to see her. He had not checked on her. With absolute certainty Bella knew that he was finished with her. It didn't matter at this point. What mattered was that she could not move forward with her life until she resolved that damn question.

He needed to know why.

One word so painful that it may as well have been written in blood. Today he'd find out.

_It's not over. Not until I give him answers. _

Bella parked in front of the faded, red house feeling bizarre and out of place. The sleek black car Edward had bought her screamed money. Far too ostentatious for the simple life of the reservation.

This would be her last trip to La Push. The wedding was just days away. After that, the reaper's hand awaited. Death, isolation and the trappings of vampire life. Accepting this car was the first step. A way to keep her safe, perfect, frozen in time until Edward turned her. Sitting in the leather seat in front of more switches and dials than she could comprehend, she knew.

_This car doesn't belong here and neither do I._

Slowly, she opened the door. Bella was certain Jacob knew of her presence by now. If the pack didn't tell him then surely his keen senses would. He would have smelled her coming a mile away. He knew she was here and still did not greet her.

Memories flickered in the back of her mind of a happier time. When Jacob would wait impatiently on the porch for her arrival. He'd run to the truck, fling open the door and before she could blink he'd be gathering her into his arms, the smile on his face shining brighter than the morning sun.

Gone.

All of it in the past.

Nothing more than a faded memory.

Her feet moved automatically towards the house, having trod that path many times over the last few months. Then, as if her her heart knew, she switched direction and like a bloodhound, headed straight for the ramshackle building that Jacob loved so much. He was in the garage, she was sure of it.

Bella stood at the door, apprehensive and worried with no real idea of what to expect. What could months alone in the wild do to a person? Would she recognize him?

Then Jacob's rough voice boomed from behind the metal walls. "I know you're there. I can hear you breathing."

Gathering all her courage, Bella turned the knob and pushed open the door. Ready to face and take on her demons. To beg, if need be, that Jacob Black absolve her many sins.

She found him bent over the hood of his car, wearing filthy jeans and the same oil-stained shirt she'd seen him wear so many times before.

Unable to move, Bella stood frozen in place, waiting, just hoping for Jacob to turn around and acknowledge her. To give her something, anything, the least little bit of encouragement to show that she still mattered to him somehow. There were only a few days left. A few short days in which she'd be able to visit him. After that she would cease to exist. Nothing of her old life would remain.

It would be as if Isabella Swan had never walked the earth.

Jacob straightened and reached for the rag laying over the fender of the car. In one fluid motion he turned, wiping his greasy hands, face breaking into a heartwarming grin and looking down at her as if he'd only seen her yesterday.

"Hey Bella. Whatcha doin' here? Shouldn't you be busy tasting cakes and filling bags of rice?"

Bella was dumbfounded. Jake was acting like nothing happened. Like none of it mattered.

_Fine. Two can play this game._

She shrugged. "I have people to do that for me. Besides, the cake was picked out a long time ago."

He smiled even wider, looking mischievous and very much like a hungry wolf. "Yeah? What kind didya get? Is it good?"

Bella shifted nervously on her feet, scuffing the rubber toe of her shoe into the hard-packed dirt floor. The jig was up. Jacob could read her like a book and what's more, she knew it.

The smile faded from his face. "Ah, I see. You don't even know do you?" Sarcasm dripped from his tongue like honey. "They don't let you make any decisions for yourself, do they?" Then he raised an eyebrow, appraising her appearance. "Or is it that you just don't care?"

Anger flashed through her, burning her veins like wildfire. "Of course I care. It's my wedding!"

Jacob laughed lightly. "Sure, sure. Whatever you say, _Isabella_."

"Don't call me that!" she screeched. Jacob knew how much she hated that name. Edward knew how much she hated it and he didn't care. It was a giant slap in the face for her best friend to treat her without the usual familiarity of her nickname.

It was exactly his point.

Tossing the rag back onto the fender, he strode over to the workbench digging for another tool. "Why not? Isn't that your name, Mrs. Cullen?"

His plan to be nice, to win her over with love and charm was quickly falling apart. Instead irritation was rising up within his soul. He wanted her. The wolf demanded her. She was the only thing that could make them both whole and she had the nerve to show up in his garage wearing that bloodsucker's ring.

He had known she was coming the second she crossed over onto his land. She was his.

_My mate. _

It was high time she figured that out.

"I hate being called Isabella and you know it. I'm not Mrs. Cullen yet, so don't start with that shit either," she retorted. _Why isn't he calling me Bells? Why isn't he calling me honey?_ She needed to hear him use those pet names one more time. To know that she still mattered to him. That their friendship still mattered to him. Or, what was the point in being here?

Jacob dared not look at her. If he did, the wolf might rise and take what it wanted. He was battling it hard, but knew that one misstep could spell their doom. Instead, he strode over to the car and started to pull apart wires, just to give his hands something to do other than shake some sense into Bella like he really wanted to.

"Fine. I won't call you Mrs. Cullen or Isabella." He tried to keep his tone light, but there was an edge of frustration that he couldn't keep hidden. "Not to be a dick, but why are you here? I'm kinda busy."

Bella tried a different approach. There had to be a way to smash through the brick wall that was separating them. Maybe this was fate's gift. "What's wrong with the rabbit, Jake?"

He shrugged but didn't turn around to face her. "Nothing. Just needs a tune up. Hasn't been driven in a few months and I need to use it Saturday. Someplace I gotta be."

Bella's eyes flew open wide. He wasn't going to her wedding. Of course he wouldn't go. How the hell could she really expect him to? The answer floated through her mind just as suddenly as the question posed itself.

_I can't. Except that he promised._

"Oh." Feeling small and foolish, she tried to keep the hurt from leaking out of her voice. "Big plans?"

Jacob whirled around and looked at Bella as if she'd grown two heads. "Are you serious? Did you forget the day of your own wedding?" His voice was rising louder with every word. Tremors ran along his spine threatening to unleash the wolf. "Or did you think that I really wouldn't go? Is that what you think of me? That I'd bail on a promise? I said that I would and even if it kills me I'll be there!"

Tears started to well up in her eyes, but Jacob didn't care. He'd push her. He'd push her harder and harder until she admitted it. This wedding was a disaster of epic proportions, one he knew she no longer desired.

Narrowing his eyes at her, Jacob wanted to inflict pain on her soul. The words passing over his lips were accusatory, callous and mean-spirited. Everything he was not, yet quickly becoming during every passing second without her. "Maybe you were hoping I wouldn't show. Then you don't have to deal with the fact that you broke my heart or that you're getting married to a man you don't really love. That you got yourself sucked into something you don't fucking want."

Her eyes flew open in disgust and anger. His words hitting home in ways she didn't want them to. "How dare you!" she spat. "How dare you even presume to think you know how I feel or what I want? You haven't been around so how in the hell would you think you know anything about this?"

Jacob smirked and laughed a little bit. "How dare I? Are you kidding me? I know you better than you know yourself, honey." He strode toward her, making a last second turn for the workbench, but not before bending down and whispering harshly in her ear. "Don't forget Bella. Pack mind." Jacob tapped his temple, reveling in the way her eyes flew open wide in shocked comprehension. "I know all about your long walks on the beach and that little breakdown you had in Charlie's backyard."

Bella was beyond angry now. She was livid. Jacob knew she was a wreck and he hadn't bothered to come home. "You bastard."

He laughed openly at her again. "I'm a bastard? Really? Why? Because I didn't come running the second you needed me?" His wolf rose in aggravation, arguing what he and the man had fought so strongly against.

_That was exactly what we did!. _

_She doesn't need to know that! _

"Besides, you had your precious bloodsucker there to take care of you that night. Let him save you now. Isn't it his job, anyway? Or did I miss something while I was gone?"

Bella abandoned all her plans. She had to get out of there. Quickly pulling the keys from her pocket, she bolted for the door. Jacob was faster, his massive frame blocked the only way out.

"Just where do you think you're going, _Isabella_?" He glanced down at the keys in her hand, knowing full well she hadn't driven the truck over.

Jacob turned his head and glanced out the door to see the shiny, new piece of shit parked in his driveway. Cullen had got her into a fancy car. Something Jacob could never provide for her. He hated her in that second. Hated that she could evoke such feelings of inadequacy in him. Months of rage and hurt poured out, causing him to shake almost violently.

"Shit!" Jacob punched the wall in desperation. "Does he make every damn decision for you? Where's your truck, huh? He's got you driving a damn fucking tank like you can't take care of yourself! Or is the truck I worked on, the truck we hung out in not good enough for you now?"

"It broke down Jake! I'm his fucking fiance and he bought me a car because mine broke! I didn't ask for it! You weren't here!" she yelled, cutting him to the quick.

_I broke down... I can't fight him anymore. I'm too tired. It's too hard. I'm only human._

That stung. True he had run away, but to be fair, he had the right. Bella had already left him. "What in the hell did I have to stay here for, huh Bella? You're marrying some dickhead when you're in love with me!"

She opened and closed her mouth, unable to form a reply. Jacob might be right, but it was out of her hands. Out of her control.

"Did you come here to break me again? Is that it? Rub it in my face?" he accused. Jacob moved aside, violently jerking open the door. "Get out. In case you missed the bulletin, I got the invitation. I'm sure the two of you had a good laugh over my heartache."

Unbridled rage now coursed through Bella's veins. She made no move to exit the building. Instead, marching over to his workbench, she grabbed the first thing she could get her hands on. With one powerful thrust she sent the greasy wrench flying across the garage where it hit the target squarely in the chest. It fell to the floor with no more than a dull thud, but not before the sharp rusted end tore open Jacob's work stained shirt, ripping away a pound of flesh. Blood poured thickly from the open wound.

Jacob shook his head at the irony. Symbolic really. The jagged cut directly over his heart.

Bella Swan bleeding him dry once more.

"How dare you!" She pitched another tool at him, this time a screwdriver, but Jacob was faster, quickly sidestepping to dodge the metaphorical bullet aimed at his head. "You're an asshole, Jake!" Grasping a hubcap lying loose on the bench she whipped it like a plastic frisbee. "I can't believe you'd think that about me! I would never do that and you know it!" She reached for another tool this time. Big and heavy, not sure she could even pitch it two feet. "We're supposed to be friends Jacob! I thought that meant something to you! That I meant something to you! Just because I'm marrying Edward doesn't mean I don't care about you!"

Jacob advanced on her, this time twisting the heavy plumber's wrench from her hands before she had the chance to do some real damage. He refused to let go of her wrist when she struggled to fight her way out of his grasp. Instead he gripped her arms roughly, pinning her against the wall. Bella winced in pain and tried to break free, but Jacob refused to let go. The bruise that blossomed on her delicate skin reminded her, he reminded her... _she was still human. _

Eye level with the blood pumping from the already healing wound, Bella felt her knees begin to weaken. The coppery smell was nauseating and her stomach was in knots from the close proximity in which Jacob held her.

He noticed a small cut on her palm. The result of a sharp piece of metal she'd grazed when choosing tools to launch at his head. Roughly yanking her hand upward, he forced her to look at it.

"Feels good to get angry, doesn't it? Reminds you that you're still alive." Jacob pressed her delicate hand over his wounded heart, mingling their crimson blood together. "Don't you get it yet? You bleed. I bleed. Do you understand what that means?"

Bella closed her eyes. It was all too much. Jacob was forcing her to feel things again. Things she'd tried to shut out for the past several days. Ever since the night she melted down in Charlie's backyard and reconciled herself to a future with Edward, she had tried to close herself off to the pain.

Jacobs heat, his heartbeat- pounded loudly in her ears. Something inside of him had shifted. Being gone had done something to him. Something to his wolf. He was wild, feral even.

_It made her want him more. _

Jacob could sense and smell it. He was winning. The angry dominant part of him which the wolf controlled was getting through to her. Still, the boy in him was afraid. Afraid he'd upset or frighten her some more.

Bella stood before him, wide-eyed, chest heaving, heart racing.

She was as skittish as a new fawn and just as beautiful.

All he wanted to do was take her trembling lips into his mouth and kiss her into oblivion. The wolf wanted to take her, claim her and mark her as his. They would own her after today. Man and wolf, body and soul.

Bella Swan would be their mate.

Jacob willed the wolf back, pushing him down. Taking a deep calming breath, he cradled her body close to his. His voice was softer now, pleading with her to listen to the desires of her heart.

"Our lives have been nothing but a bad horror movie for a year. I don't want it to be like that anymore. Not for you, for me or anyone else. You are the only thing anymore that reminds me of who I am. That there's more to me than the Pack and the wolf. You're the only thing that keeps me from losing myself in this world."

A distant memory echoed through the musty air, a faded reminder of a scared boy and lonely girl seeking comfort in the grip of each others arms. _'You're not gonna lose yourself. I won't let that happen. I'll tell you all the time. How special you are.' _

"Bells, I don't want to lose you. Do you remember when we built those damn bikes? When there was more to me than just being this fucking wolf? I want you to know all of it. My whole life. I want you to know about every single moment that you missed when you were living with your Mom. I want to know about every minute and every detail of your life in Phoenix. Every birthday party, every first day of school, all the friends you had. I want to know it all. Has he ever asked you that? I want to know who you are. I want you to know who I am."

Jacob's voice was breaking while he pleaded with her, desperate to make her understand how badly he needed her. "I want you the way you are. I don't need you to be stronger or less breakable. I want a normal life with you. I want us to go to school, to get married, to have jobs, have children, walk on the beach together and shiver from how cold the water is around our ankles, to feel every single grain of sand beneath our feet. I want to spend the summer exploring the forest with you, riding our bikes all over the coast. If you want to ride beside me on your own bike or behind me holding tight, I don't care. I'll never take that choice from you. That's the difference between him and me. I'm not asking you to choose forever to be with me. I'll give up forever to live a normal life with you."

Hot tears spilled down her cheeks. Jacob loved her so much. Again he was opening his heart to her, giving away his soul so willingly. Everything about him, his life, the way he loved her was all-encompassing. The words danced on the tip of her tongue. _ I won't leave you. I'll stay with you_. But instead, Bella only looked at him with mournful eyes.

Jacob held her closer, cradling her tiny form in his arms. She had gotten so thin, the haunted look that she wore long ago had returned. Dragging her over to the beat up couch that they had passed so many lazy afternoons on, he sat her down and looked at the blood and tears smeared on her pretty face. In sheer desperation he wanted nothing more than to wipe the mess from her cheeks, as if it would wipe away the pain staining her heart.

Bella watched as he pulled the work worn shirt over his head and then used it to wipe the mess from her cheeks. Jacob's warm, satin skin glistened with sweat that her fingers itched to touch. To dance lightly over the hard planes of his chest. To skim deftly along his shoulders. To tangle themselves in his velvety black hair and pull his lips to her own, one last time. Jacob looked down at her with so much intensity, so much love that it was almost impossible to deny him.

_Almost_.

If it were not for secrets she had to keep. To forfeit her life to protect him, to protect the tribe. To keep a bunch of bloodthirsty Italian vampires from ever coming to check on her and find him instead.

Jacob watched Bella's face soften and then twist with some kind of inner turmoil. She wrapped her arms around herself the way she used to when Edward had left her. Back when she came to him broken beyond repair. Bella was crawling deep inside of herself but he wouldn't let her do it. He'd force her to see the truth if it killed him.

Jacob grasped her hands and pulled them from her body. "Bells, if you do this. If you go with Edward and let him change you I promise you'll regret it. "You won't ever sleep again. You'll never dream."

Bella inhaled sharply and Jacob knew she was thinking of all the nightmares she'd had over the past two years. He stroked her silken hair lovingly, promising her through comforting gestures as well as words. "I know you might think that part is a good thing, but it's not Bells. There are too many sweet things to dream about and I promise that if you'll let me, I'll be there when the nightmares come. I'll stay with you and we'll talk them out. I'll protect you just like I always have."

Bella's heart twisted with pain. Jacob looked down at her with so much love, so much intensity and she wanted nothing more right now than to believe in him, to let him heal all of her hurts. To stay by his side. She had to do something, say something, anything before her resolve could crumble further. "Jake, please don't-"

Jacob cut her off, knowing that if he didn't continue now she'd run away. Everything between them would be over before it could begin. He couldn't let that happen. Not this time. "Bells, if you do this, if you become one of them, you're going to lose your family. Your real family. Charlie, Renee, Billy... even me."

She sought out his eyes, seeing the truth reflected in them. Jacob was right. She'd lose him. Her best friend. There was no way he could be around her after the change. Instinctually they would want to kill each other. The very thought of ripping him limb from limb was enough to shatter all of her careful reasoning to dust.

_Almost_.

Swallowing hard, she shook her head, defying the secret desires of her heart. "Jake, you don't understand. I have to do this. Edward loves me...", she took a deep breath, readying herself to deal the final blow. "...and I love him."

Anger and resentment burned like wildfire in Jacob's dark eyes. His demeanour changed abruptly from calm and soothing to one of irritation and disgust. "Edward is a predator, Bella. He told you so himself. Everything about him draws you in. How much of what you feel is being caught in his web? Do you know if it's even real love? Can you risk that?" Jacob gestured between the two of them. "Because this? What you feel for me, what we feel for each other, that's real, Bella. We built that. You and me, over an entire lifetime. You can't deny that any more than you can deny the beat of your own heart."

The look on her face told him that he was getting to her. Tipping the scales in his favor. Jacob would beg if need be. Even if he and the wolf could not claim her, he refused to let her life become an abomination of nature.

"He makes all of your choices for you. I won't do that. I know what it's like to lose free will. Stay here with me. Let me show you this life, Bella," he begged. "Let me show you what it feels like to really be alive." Jacob's voice rose and fell while he shifted around, unable to control his thoughts and emotions anymore. He was holding nothing back from her now. It was physically impossible. Nearly as impossible as the idea of losing her to a damn leech, of all things.

"Ask yourself this Bella. Can you let me go? Really let me go? Because if you leave here today and marry him, let him turn you into a damn bloodsucking vampire, that's exactly what you'll be doing. You'll want to kill me," he stated coldly, willing her to understand. "To kill Charlie, Renee, Billy, your friends... your whole family. You'll feel it, Bells. You'll feel it because it's what you'll be, no matter how hard you or the Cullens try to deny it. Nothing but a cold-blooded killer."

This was it. The moment of truth in her lie. The time that everything she'd ever told herself and told him to keep her own heart locked up tightly, came unravelled. Jacob was not giving her room to breathe, let alone overthink.

"I can't lose you, Bella. I just can't. Nobody else knows me the way you do. Nobody else would understand. You let me be who I am. You keep me from losing myself to the madness. Your love, your laughter does that for me." His eyes closed, pain from the very thought of a life without her clearly written all over his handsome face. "All those nights I was lost in the wilderness, all those days that I ran and beat the hell out of my body, I still couldn't get you out of my mind. I dreamed about you every goddamn night, Bells! Every single night, the same dream over and over again. You fucking killed me. I'd find you in the woods and fall to my knees in front of you. Then you'd look at me with red eyes and kill me. You'd watch me, your mouth covered in blood, licking your lips and smiling. You watched me die every fucking night."

Bella gasped in horror at not only the vision, but the broken pain of Jacob's voice. She knew it could happen. It was one of the reasons she'd have to leave Forks, leave La Push, leave Jake. She would kill the ones she loved the most and the very idea of becoming a monster, murdering her best friend, the man she loved, the man she was destined from birth to be with... the thought was unbearable.

"I wish I could forget you," he whispered. "I wish I could hate you. I can't. If you walk away now, I will die. Maybe not physically, but emotionally, I will. What we have doesn't just happen to everyone. Stay here with me. I don't want to miss you for one more day. I don't want to miss you again tonight. This is where you belong. Right here, in my arms. Look at me and try to deny it! Tell me you can feel this too."

She knew now, looking into his tear-filled eyes that rage was only a mask. A mask to keep her from seeing the real hurt that she was causing him, causing herself. That his life, her life would be empty without the warmth of each others souls. But, what was done was done. Could she go back? If she stayed here with Jacob, he could still leave her. He wouldn't have a choice. Then it would be her, left to blow in the dust with nothing but the shattered pieces of her broken, bleeding heart for company.

She knew she wasn't strong enough to survive it.

Jacob took her stony silence as a bad sign. She was overthinking everything again. He wouldn't give her the chance. He was too pissed off, too hurt, too in love with her to let her walk away now. "For gods sake Bella! Stop lying to yourself! Stop lying to me! Stop denying me!" he demanded. "From the second you set foot in Forks it was you! It was always you! When will you understand that? When will you give us a chance? You just think that you love him. Can he do this with you?" He crossed the small distance between them. He heard her sharp intake of breath when he leaned in to steal her lips, but instead pressed a hot kiss against her cheek, then whispered low in her ear. "Can he make your heart race like this?"

She shivered when his cheek brushed against hers, his warm lips assaulting the dip of her neck. "Does he make you feel the way I do?"

Bella gasped, but pushed past the carnal desire with which her body betrayed her to ask the question which weighed so heavily on her heart and mind. "What if you imprint?"

Jacob pulled back, reeling from the blow but steeled himself against the unknown. "I won't."

"How can you know that?" she asked stubbornly, jumping from the couch in a bid to get away from him.

"I just fucking do!" Jacob pulled at his hair in desperation, needing her to understand the true depth of his feelings for her. "Ask anyone in the pack. Ask my father. Hell, ask your father! It's not gonna happen. The way I feel about you. The way my wolf feels about you... it's stronger than any of the other imprints. I have a choice... I'll give up this fucked-up wolf to be with you. Don't you get that? I'll walk away from everything. The pack, my position as Alpha, my father, my tribe... just to be with you!"

Bella shook her head regretfully, fresh tears ready to spill forth from her grief-stricken eyes. "You can't do that. I won't let you, Jake. I don't belong in your world."

"The hell you don't Bella!" Jacob grabbed her roughly, pinning her against the door of the car. She pushed and railed against him, but he was stronger than her. Jacob's hands held her arms in a vice grip, his hard body pressed against her. It was violent. He was violent. The wolf inside him angry beyond measure, demanding the man take what belonged to them both.

The slip of a girl squirmed beneath his hands, trying to break free from his grasp. "Stop fighting me!" he growled viciously.

Bella stilled herself. Part of her knew she should be afraid. Any woman held captive by a man should be. The bigger part of herself wanted this. Wanted him. Wanted them both. To be manhandled. Not to be treated like a porcelain doll. When Jacob leaned down and ran his nose along her neck, breathing her in, Bella's knees went weak. He whispered into her ear, his deep voice mixed with anger, lust and love. Warm breath and words sent chills up and down her spine, flooding her with desire. "Tell me something Bella. Can he do this to you? Does he turn you on this way? Does he get this reaction from you?"

Jacob could smell victory. Bella was going to be his. Today he would to claim her, body and soul. So low that even she couldn't hear, the Alpha in him issued a demand on the pack. "Get Billy the fuck out of here!"

He released her from his grasp, backing away an inch. She did not move. _Good_. He trailed his fingertips down her arms, twining them with hers and brought both of her hands to his chest. She stared up at him wide eyed.

"Ask me," he demanded. "Ask me to kiss you, Bella and this time fucking mean it."

"Jake, I want to-"

"No!" He demanded. "Don't tell me what you want. Take it Bella. Take what you want. Just know that this time, I'm not giving you the option. Mean it or walk away now."

She wavered then, unsure and slightly afraid. Taking a timid step forward, she looked into his hard eyes, her own glittering brightly with the same impassioned excitement. Then boldly, she stepped further into his heat, reaching on tiptoe, tilting her face upward and at the same time, placing one delicate hand behind his neck, pulling his warm lips to her own.

Before she could feel Jacob's mouth pressed against her, he turned his head, whispering in her ear. "If you kiss me, there is no going back. You're ours and ours alone. You will be marked and claimed."

It was then that she understood. This was not only what the man wanted. This was about need. The wolf demanded her as much as Jacob himself did. Binding herself to Jacob meant binding herself to the wolf that had haunted her dreams. They were one soul, one creature who must be united. What one took, so did the other. With that thought, she gave herself over to them fully.

Body, mind and soul.

Cradling a small hand over his cheek, she gazed into his eyes, begging him to see the truth in them. "I don't want to go back, but there are things you need to know. I'm not safe. It's not just the Cullens. There are others, older and more powerful than them, who may come looking for me one day. I don't want them to find you or the pack."

Jacob bridled slightly at any threat posed to his mate. "Nobody will touch you. We will protect you. We can leave this place if we have to. Believe me when I say that you will be safe, that I love you and nothing is ever going to hurt you again."

It wasn't that easy. He needed to understand. "Jacob... I..."

"Say it, Bella. Just say the words."

She gasped and trembled, the truth of it pouring out from the very heart of her soul. "I love you. I want you."

"_I want to live."_


	8. Chapter 8:Don't Want To Miss You Tonight

_**There are no rules that can bind you when you find your other half.**_

_**-Jacob black, Eclipse**_

His mouth crashed to hers, the wolf ready to devour her body. The man in him reminding the warrior to be cautious, slow.

Desperate to pour his scent into her, Jacob wrapped her all too willing legs around his waist. "Not here..." he growled, marching her out of the filthy garage.

Their lips never parted until she felt herself fall onto something soft.

Jacob's bed.

Mouth desperate for the taste of her flesh, hands itching to touch her in the most intimate of ways, Jacob barely got the door closed before stripping the clothes from her quivering body until she was nothing more than pink flesh laid bare for his hungry eyes to see. The smell of lust and desire hung thickly in the air, overwhelming his predatory senses and increasing the need to claim his mate. Jacob ran his nose along her neck, down the curve of her breast, nipping and biting, scenting his mate.

Staring at her in wonder, his eyes feasted on the milky whiteness of her body, marveling at the way the afternoon sunlight dappled over the soft stain of pink covering her skin.

The wolf roared in anticipation, desperate to take her deep in the woods and claim her amid his own kind on the damp leaves of the forest floor. After this day, she would be his. By nightfall, Bella Swan would be no more. Bella Black would take her place, mated to the rightful Alpha of the Quileute pack.

Running his nose along the column of her throat, Jacob once again scented her, leaving behind a trail of hot, fiery wet kisses in his wake. The satin feel of her flesh, as bare skin slid against bare skin, aroused and enticed each of them in new, never imagined ways.

Warm lips brushed the insides of her quaking thighs, causing her to moan in anticipation. Parting the folds of her lips, Jacob's tongue tasted her honey sweetness, ready to devour her like the last drop of water on earth.

She tasted pure, untouched by man... the sudden realization startling him back to his senses. Crawling back up her waiting body, Jacob gazed at her through heavily lidded eyes, then asked the question both wolf and man needed an answer to.

"Bells, has he... have you?"

Looking steadily into his eyes, her tiny fingers tangled in his hair, Bella answered him before pulling his warm lips to her own. "No, there's only been you."

The wolf roared in satisfaction while the boy inside breathed a sigh of relief.

"I don't want to hurt you," he whispered, kissing her lightly and burying his face in the curve of her neck.

"You won't."

Jacob turned his gaze on her, eyes reflecting the pain in his heart at what was to come. "I will, Bella. You're so tiny... and I'm not."

Her small hands brushed gently over his cheeks, the tips of her fingers pressing lightly over his lips. "I know. It's ok. It's not a bad hurt, Jacob. I just want to be with you. Love me and you could never hurt me." She tried to reassure him with words and touch, desperate to have him make her his own. "Love me," she pleaded.

Hot tears formed in the corners of his eyes. "For the rest of my life," he promised.

The wolf inside of him eased, allowing the man to care for his mate.

Hands trembling, he stripped off his shorts, trying to hide the embarrassment and excitement he felt at being naked with the only girl he had ever loved. It was almost more than he could take, but he would swallow back his own selfish desires. He would do this right for them both.

His hands skimmed over the sides of her body, ghosting over the curve of her hip, stopping just short of their destination in nervousness and fear. "Jacob, you're shaking."

Jacob drew in a steadying breath, then looked into her eyes. "I know. It's just... I've wanted this- you, for so long."

"Just go slow."

Nodding his head, Jacob eased his fingers one after another into the warm, wet depths of her body, sliding gently, the roughened tips of his fingers causing her to moan and gasp in anticipation.

"Jacob," she begged. "Please, I want you inside of me."

He smiled at her then, shaking his head in regret. "Not yet." He wanted to tip her over the edge and bring her back before climbing inside of her.

When she looked at him with confusion, he smiled gently. "It'll help," he explained, curving his fingers ever so slightly and swelling with pride when she clamped down on his hand and he felt the warm, wet rush fall from her all too willing body.

Easing his fingers out of her, Jacob crawled up the length of Bella's body, bringing them to her parted lips so that she too, could taste the sweetness of her own desire.

Breathing deeply, Jacob pulled open the drawer of his nightstand, searching for the unused box of condoms that had taunted him nightly. Dropping the foil square in surprise, he looked down at the small hand that held his wrist so tightly.

Biting her lip, Bella gazed up at him shyly, a stain of crimson covering her cheeks.. "You don't need to. I want to feel all of you. It's... it's safe. I'm safe."

Comprehension dawned on him, so he turned all of his attention back to her, kissing her softly, whispering words of love and adoration in her ear.

Positioning himself between her legs, the tip of his cock resting against the warmth of her body, he looked into her eyes, begging her to understand. "Just tell me if I need to stop. If it's too much."

She closed her eyes, took a deep breath and tried to relax. "Ok."

Jacob pushed himself forward, sliding into her wet heat. The wolf roared in delight. She was theirs and theirs alone.

Bella gasped in pain when he tore through her. Stars flashed behind the lids of her eyes as pain and pleasure ripped through her, mingling into the most exquisite sensation she had ever felt. His thick length stretched and filled her in ways she had never imagined before.

Stilling inside of her, Jacob waited eagerly for a sign, to know that she was alright, that he could go on and love her in the way he had always wanted to.

Then, the slightest movement. Hips pushing towards him. Hands pulling him forward.

Jacob began to rock further inside of her, driving himself harder and deeper until she encased him like a soft glove. The sensation... indescribable.

As if she were made only for him and he for her.

Daring to open his eyes fully, Jacob looked down at Bella with pure love written on his face. She lay before him, dark brown waves spread over his pillow, pink lips parted ever so slightly, her cheeks flushed with the heat of desire. All he had ever wanted, dared to hope for, was wrapped around his body, here in this bed. She was so beautiful that his heart ached with the wonder of it.

In that moment, Jacob swore to himself to make her happy for the rest of their days.

The urge inside was building. Bella had relaxed under his touch, causing the wolf to howl in want. "Bella..." he called. "Bells, look at me."

Thick lashes fluttered until her warm, brown eyes met his more serious ones. Jacob's voice was almost pained as he spoke. "Bells, the wolf, he wants to mark you. I don't know how much longer I can stop him."

"Then don't. Let him have me."

Jacob shook from the idea of it, the wolf desperate to sink his teeth into her flesh and leave behind a mark for all the world to see. "Bella, we'll be married in the eyes of the pack. This isn't just something either of us can walk away from." He needed to be sure. Bella had to understand. This wasn't just a one timething.

This was a lifetime commitment.

She looked him squarely in the eyes, vowing with everything she had to never hurt the man who had saved her so many times. "I'll never leave you again. I love you, nothing and nobody can ever change that. I belong here, with you."

It was all he needed.

Simple words that held the promise of an entire future that lay before them. Sliding his arms around her, Jacob pulled her forward, bringing her to rest in his lap, hands guiding her hips, plunging her down his length over and over, speed increasing with every stroke.

The animal in him wakened, bursting forth in a show of power and dominance. The black of his eyes replaced with a golden glow, his tongue sweeping over the sharp points of his teeth, a growl reverberated through his chest as the wolf got ready to claim what was rightfully his.

Then suddenly he broke from her, wild and uncontrolled. "Shit! Not here. The wolf... Bella he doesn't... we need to go."

"Ok."

Jacob lifted her into his arms, the sheet flowing over her small body in soft folds. He raced into the canopy of trees, carrying her deep into the heart of the Olympic forest. In his mind there was no destination. The spirits were guiding them now. Man, Bella, wolf, controlling their actions.

The Gods guided him to a small valley, the floor of it thick with foxglove and Queen Anne's lace. Wild blue iris dotted dotted the landscape, a bold splash of color against the backdrop of lush greens and muted browns.

Nestled in the center of the clearing, surrounded by an outcropping of rock was a pool of water, both warm and inviting as it shimmered under the bright moonlight.

Jacob set Bella on her feet, then began to walk around her slowly, unwinding the sheet that covered her small frame like the draping of a goddess. The warmth of his fingers left trails of fire along her flesh.

He could hear her heartbeat, fluttering like angel wings beneath the milky white flesh of her pink-tipped breasts. The sound of it almost more than he could bear.

In an instant, he had her on her knees, taking all of her from behind, dominating her small body in ways he had only dreamed of, spurred on by a burst of power and lust.

Bella's breathing quickened. Her muscles began to clamp down hard on his throbbing cock. Man and wolf knew the time had come to unite them as one flesh, one spirit. Kissing her hard one last time, he pushed away the curtain of her hair, exposing the soft juncture of her neck.

"Mine. Ours." Then sinking his sharp teeth into yielding flesh, the wolf marked his mate.

Bella screamed in wild abandonment. A rush of electricity, scintillating and humming through her body while the wolf clamped down hard on her neck, binding her tightly to him. She felt him spill deep inside of her, her own orgasm coming in a rush of blinding light. Heat surged through her veins, white hot, scorching and consuming her from the inside out until bursting forth into a crescendo of blazing fire. Each individual flame wrapped around their bodies like fiery cords, burning and binding them together in a haze of lust, love and ancient magic.

His kiss, his heat, his love surrounded her and made her feel alive once more.

Bella understood now, what it was she had been missing this whole time. The ability to love and be loved in return so freely, wantonly, rushed over her in a display of emotion so profound that it knocked her off her feet.

-oooooo-

Alice Cullen dropped the vase she was holding. Bright blue petals and broken glass skidded across the marble floor.

Isabella Swan's future had disappeared for good.


	9. Epilogue: Close To Heaven

_**Jacob had become a part of me, and there was no changing that now.**_  
_**Bella Swan, Eclipse**_

Bella woke to the early morning sunlight streaming through the open window. The faded blue curtains fluttered gently on the breeze as dust motes danced through the cool morning air.

Jacob's warm arms were wrapped around her lovingly.

In sleep the wolf fell away. The hard lines of his jaw softened and she could almost see the boy she knew in the man he had become. All of the anger and frustration of the day before had disappeared, leaving behind the serene face of a guardian angel, resting from the weariness of what his world had become.

The tips of her fingers traced the curve of his cheek lovingly. For the first time in her life, Bella Swan felt whole. Life was a gift. Jacob had shown her that. He taught her to live fully, to expect wonderful things in return for the promise of a future that would be theirs and theirs alone for the taking.

Closing her eyes, she recalled the night before. How he had taken her amongst the trees on the forest floor. Afterward, Jacob had carried her into the warm pool of water, easing her aching body and tenderly massaging the hurt away with gentle, loving hands.

He told her of his dreams, what he hoped their futures would bring. Like children, they played and splashed together, talking about the past and laughing over the things they had missed. Jacob Black had reminded her of why he was her very best friend. Proving once and for all that their life, their relationship together was easy as breathing... even if it was enhanced by monsters and a little bit of magic.

Jacob tried to explain the new pack dynamic to her- and to himself for that matter. It was going to take some getting used to. Bella never blinked when he told her about the fight that had occurred between him and Sam. Instead she giggled and called him Chief Jacob, as though she had been waiting years to use that line on him.

Then he delicately tried to explain to her about Leah. At first her eyes went wide with shock and then relief that he wouldn't have to sleep with her in order to break the imprint bond.

In her heart, Bella knew. The wolf, the man and she were bound together for the rest of their lives. Their union blessed by the spirits of Jacob's grandfathers. The small mark on her flesh a visible affirmation of their love and commitment. In doing so, a mutual state of satisfaction was reached. Wolf and Man were no longer warring with each other. It seemed a mental accord had been signed. They had finally become one being, something that would not have happened without taking Bella as mate.

Under cover of darkness, Jacob carried her back through the quiet forest, into his sleeping house. They laid side by side in the cramped bed, gazing at the stars in the heavens. In her ear, Jacob whispered words that spoke of love and adoration, finally able to say all the things he had kept hidden away in the confines of his heart. The gentle sound of his voice and the warm caress of his hands lulled her into sleep.

That night in her dreams, she heard the laughter of small, black-haired children.

For the first time in as long as she could remember, Bella had slept soundly without the haunting nightmares that continuously plagued her.

Jacob Black had finally healed her soul.

When she woke it was the dawn of a new day. A whole new life. Bella realized that things were a bit complicated. Charlie would need to be informed, as well as Billy, but neither of them would present an argument. Jacob and Bella being together was a long cherished, not to mention devilishly plotted dream of theirs forever.

At some point in the day Jacob would need to inform the council and the pack. She'd have to rise to the occasion, prepare herself for those who would not think her worthy to marry the future Chief of the Quileute tribe. Small town gossip would also no doubt attribute the sudden break-up of Bella's engagement to cheating or any other delicious scandal the local busybodies could dream up.

In the end, it was all worth it. Every single bit of it. Last night she had vowed to take the good with the bad, tasting the bitterness of life along with the sweet.

Still, there was one more thing she needed to do in order to place the past firmly behind her.

Bella carefully slipped out of Jacob's grasp. Tiptoeing across the room, taking care not to trip over random car parts or magazines, she quietly slid open a drawer, pulling out one of Jacob's old t-shirts and a pair of boxers. Her own clothes from the day before, a shredded mess of bright confetti on the worn brown carpeting.

Creeping out the front door, Bella walked silently to her car. After today, she wouldn't need it. Jacob would find her truck and make it run again. A vision of upturned crates and warm sodas placed a happy smile on her lips.

_We'll work it out together._

Without fear, she drove down the winding highway, knowing there would be a wolf somewhere to bring her back. Turning into the long drive, she knew somehow that they would already be gone. There was no doubt in her mind that Alice had seen her future wash away as surely as the evening tide. A new one waited to be written. What would become of Edward she could not know.

She could only hope that a new love took her place.

The enormous house which had once seemed so warm and inviting now looked cold somehow, not the haven of comfort she had first believed it to be. It was as if she saw it with new eyes, open to a bright world of color and design. One in which the stark, clean lines did not blend with the raw, natural beauty of the green forested backdrop.

The doors were locked and peering inside she could see that sheets covered the expensive furnishings to protect it from the dust. Within days, Bella was certain that movers would be here to take it all away.

There was no regret in her heart when she placed Edward's ring on the doorstep. Instead a sense of lightness washed over her being. It had never really belonged on her finger anyway. One day a much simpler band would take its place. One that she would gladly accept with a full heart.

Lingering only momentarily to take in and comprehend all that had transpired, all that had been gained and lost, Bella touched her hand to the door in a final farewell.

"Goodbye, Edward. I hope you find happiness one day."

When she turned around she saw a russet wolf standing in the driveway, head cocked to the side, a kind of grin on his furry face.

A wide smile parted her lips as she skipped over to him, throwing herself into his warmth and hugging him tightly around the neck. Bella ran her fingers through his thick fur, resting her cheek against the downy softness. Then she whispered in his ear.

"Let's go home."

**HUGE prop's to Shadowlynx, MP, Misty, Tay and Kim for holding my hand through this little story that brewed for months. Thanks to Niamhg and Mary for kicking my behind and making me post this.**


	10. Chapter 10

Hi Everyone!

Need You, Iris, Firefly and The Life & Times of Charlie Swan have all been nominated in The Fandom Choice Awards. Thank you so much for your nominations. Please check out the wonderful stories that are listed and then vote for your favorites.

Congratulations to my friends and wonderful reviewers who have been nominated.

Thank You,

Dragonfly76

www. fandomchoiceawards .com


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